The NSSN sends our full support to the BMA and their Resident Doctors members as they take more strike action for a fair pay award from 7am on 17 December until 7am 22 December.
Instead of seeking to resolve the dispute, Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting has criticised resident doctors. The whole union movement must continue to send solidarity to the BMA and their members, who along with all other health workers, keep the NHS going.
Resident doctors set date for strike (1 Dec) – BMA members will return to the picket lines in run-up to Christmas in search of improved pay offer. Resident doctors in England will strike again this month, with the BMA urging the Government to call off the action by resuming talks on jobs and pay. The BMA resident doctors committee has today confirmed doctors will return to the picket lines in the run-up to Christmas, while urging the Government to ‘get a grip on the situation’ by returning to negotiations. Should it go ahead, the latest round of action will see resident doctors stage full walk-outs from 7am on 17 December until 7am 22 December. Confirming the new strike dates, BMA resident doctors committee co-chair Jack Fletcher said that, while doctors would rather be treating patients than be on picket lines, continuing inaction with addressing the profession’s concerns meant there was no alternative read more
After Starmer & Reeves’s Budget and Starmer’s employment rights U-turn, TUC must call demo!
After weeks of speculation, Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves has presented her Budget. While workers desperately need policies that reverse the attack on living standards of the last 15 years or so, instead the Budget effectively means ‘same again’.
The NSSN has been campaigning for a Budget that makes the rich pay not workers and working-class communities. But yet more austerity is what faces us.
- And now, Starmer’s government has disgracefully done a U-turn on his promise to enforce workers’ employment rights for day one. The undemocratic Tory 50% strike ballot thresholds, brought in by Cameron are still in place, despite it being a manifesto commitment to scrap them. All this, with a 160 seat majority!
We will continue to support workers taking action to resist the cost of living squeeze, while at the same time continuing to demand that the TUC calls a national weekend demonstration against Starmer’s austerity offensive. This action was passed at September’s TUC Congress and is now TUC policy. The TUC and the unions must now name the date!
Consider taking this brief model motion to your next union meeting:-
- This union NEC/branch/union branch committee/trades council welcomes the unanimous vote at this year’s TUC Congress for the motions from the TUC Disabled Workers Conference and Trades Councils Conference.
- We fully support the demand in the motions: “for the TUC to organise a weekend demonstration against Labour austerity as a launchpad for sustained trade union action in defence of workers and young people.”
- We welcome that this is now official TUC policy and call on our union NEC to demand that the TUC name the date for such a demonstration.
Download and distribute our new NSSN Workplace Report - ‘We’re Struggling Down Here’
Affiliate your union branch/trades council to NSSN (£50).
Renew/donate online (HSBC: 40-06-41, 90143790)
Cheque (NSSN, 16 Warren Rd, London E10 5QA).
Contact us: email – [email protected].
SAVE THE DATE!! 2026 NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 27th June 11am-4.30pm in Conway Hall in London
FINISHING THE JOB: Demand an Employment Rights Bill #2 – Organised by : Campaign for Trade Union Freedom (CTUF) and Strike Map
As the Employment Rights Bill completes its parliamentary journey, all eyes are on the Tory and Liberal Democrat amendments made to the Bill in the House of Lords. Although these amendments have caused justifiable outrage amongst trade unionists, it is widely predicted that they will be rejected by the government wielding its majority in the House of Commons, and that the original terms of the Bill will be restored. Whilst we recognise the progress made in improving worker’s rights, we believe that a second employment rights bill is needed, one that strengthens the rights of all workers. This would include:-
1. An Immediate repeal of all anti-union laws.
2. A full ban on ‘fire and rehire’, enforceable by injunction.
3. End all zero-hours contracts .
4. A £15 per hour minimum wage with no age exemptions.
5. A statutory right to collective bargaining for all workers and a legal mechanism for creating sector-wide collective bargaining.
6. Amending our labour laws to comply with international standards.
7. Universal employment rights, including for workers on working visas, through a single worker status.
8. All workers to be entitled to all employment rights from day one.
9. A full trade union right to access workers on employers’ premises, enforceable by injunction.
10. End restrictions on industrial action and introduce a positive right to strike, including the right to take solidarity action.
- Sign this form to confirm your commitment to an employment rights bill #2. Please share this action.
Support the striking Birmingham binworkers as agency workers join the picket lines
The NSSN salutes the heroic strike by the Birmingham binworkers, who have been taking indefinite action since March against the brutal fire & rehire by the Labour council, leading to the slashing of their wages by up to £8,000 a year. Outrageously, the council has used vicious strike-breaking measures, backed by Starmer’s government.
However, in an incredible and historic development, agency workers have joined the strike to fight against bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting.
We joined the strike rally yesterday of all the binworkers, on the first day of the agency workers’ action.
The long-running dispute is now at a pivotal stage, and a great victory can be won. All unions must now come to their aid. The NSSN will continue to help build solidarity – victory to the Birmingham binworkers!
- Go to the Facebook pages of Unite the Union and Unite for a Workers Economy for videos and photos of last week’s strike rally, and keep an eye out on Reel News on X for videos of yesterday’s strike rally via @ReelNewsLondon
Unite: Birmingham council’s strike breaking lies exposed as monthly spend on agencies and outsourcers triples (6 Dec) – Evidence points to council now unlawfully recruiting temporary staff to replace striking agency workers. Birmingham council’s monthly spend on employment agencies and outsourcers has tripled since the bin strike dispute began in January 2025, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. Analysis by Unite’s forensic accountants of Birmingham council procurement data shows it is spending an extra £1.1 million per month on agency staff and for services from Coventry-based Tom White Waste. Unite does not believe the council’s denials that it isn’t unlawfully employing temporary staff to replace striking workers. Since agency workers employed by Job and Talent began strike action on 1 December, 20 new temporary staff hired through the Smart Solutions agency have started work at the council’s Smithfield depot. Smart Solutions is also advertising online for temporary bin worker roles at the council. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Instead of trying to break a strike, Birmingham council should stop disgracing itself and get back to talks to find a fair resolution for the bin workers. That is the only way strikes will end.” Directly employed bin workers have been on strike since January over pay cuts of up £8,000 for drivers and loaders. Agency workers employed by Job & Talent began strike action on 1 December over bullying and harassment.
- Birmingham council’s total spend on agency staff in 2024 was £6.4 million, averaging £533,000 a month. There was no spend on Tom White Waste or any equivalent outsourced contract. The total spend on agency staff (Job & Talent) between January and August 2025 was £8.4 million, with another £5 million spent on Tom White Waste – totalling £13.4 million or £1.675 million a month Read more
- Sign petition to support binworkers
- Send a message of support to Unite and the binworkers
- Donate to the strike fund – Unite WM/7186 Branch, account: 20308397, sort code: 608301. Title donation: BCC Strike Donation
- Send a postcard to tell Birmingham Council’s leader to ‘Stop attacking your workers’ at https://supportbinworkers.unitetheunion.postbug.app/
Watch Reel News video of the 20th September demonstration in Birmingham and keep an eye out on Reel News on X for videos of yesterday’s strike rally – @ReelNewsLondon
Support the Unite Sheffield Bin Strike
New strike tactics at Sheffield waste depot aim to cause increased disruption (16 Oct) – Workers at Veolia will now return to work periodically to disrupt employer’s use of agency strike breakers. Striking workers taking part in a year-long dispute in Sheffield are set to cause greater disruption for their employer as new dates for action have been announced. Members of Unite working for Veolia at the Lumley Street depot have been on strike for over a year in their fight for union recognition. In a new tactic designed to disrupt Veolia’s use of agency staff in strike-breaking roles, workers will now periodically return to work before then heading back to the picket line. Workers will now walk out from 10-16 November, 24-30 November, 8-14 December, 22-28 December, 5-11 January, 19-25 January, 2-8 February, 16-22 February and 2-8 March read more
Donate to the strike fund – Unite NEYH, 60-83-01 20173962
Sign the Statement of Solidarity
Support the Unison Gloucestershire phlebotomists strike
Phlebotomists mark longest-running strike of NHS workers in history with Gloucester rally, says UNISON (17 Nov) – Settling dispute could be done for fraction of chief executive’s salary. Striking health workers will be joined by senior union leaders and supporters today (Monday) to highlight the longest-ever walkout by NHS employees as phlebotomists in Gloucestershire mark their 236th day of industrial action, says UNISON. The 36 specialist staff, who take and handle blood samples from patients, have been on strike since March in a dispute over their demand to be paid fairly for the skills and expertise needed for their roles, says the union. Putting them on to the right pay band would cost their employer, the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, approximately £60,000 per year, says UNISON. It would also recognise the valuable contribution the workers make to health services across the county, adds the union. UNISON has calculated that the cost of ensuring all the trust’s phlebotomists are on the correct wages is just a quarter of chief executive Kevin McNamara’s annual salary for 2024/25 of around £245,000 read more
Picketing and plan of action for week 39:-
- Monday 8th: No picket. Meeting at Gloucester Royal Hospital.
- Tuesday 9th: No picket. Meeting at Cheltenham General Hospital.
- Wednesday 10th: Joint picket at Gloucester Royal Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
- Thursday 11th: Joint picket at Cheltenham General Hospital from 08.00 to 11.30.
- Friday 12th: Relaxed picket at both sites.
Strike Map have produced “I Give a Phleb” badges for the UNISON Gloucestershire Phlebotomists. Over £400 raised and sent already, is 1,000. Every penny to the strike fund. Grab your £1 badge using the following link: https://organiseandstrike.sumupstore.com/product/i-give-a-phleb-gloucestershire-phlebotomists-strike-support-badge-pre-sale
- Donate to the strike fund:-
Please show phlebotomists your support and solidarity by donating to their strike hardship fund:
Make a donation via SumUp
UNISON Gloucestershire DHC Branch 21311
Sort code: 60-83-01
Account number: 20301750
Reference: strikefund
Union News
You can receive this bulletin via email or you can choose to unsubscribe and stop receiving them. Like everyone else, the NSSN has to adhere to new data protection regulations. Therefore you must click here to subscribe/unsubscribe. Reports from unions do not necessarily reflect NSSN’s views.
RMT
Rail unions warn BTP funding crisis is putting staff and passengers at risk (8 Dec) – The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) has been urged to agree a proper funding settlement for the BTP, by rail unions and the TUC in a joint letter. The warning comes as frontline officer numbers have fallen to unsafe levels amid rising crime across the rail network. In a joint letter RMT, TUC, Aslef, TSSA and Unite, say years of cuts have pushed BTP officer numbers to “the limits of safe headcount reduction”, with over 500 posts due to disappear by the end of 2025/26 and stations already closed, reducing visibility and frontline capability. Figures presented to the BTPA show police presence on the railway has fallen by nearly a third since 2009/10, while crime is sharply rising including a 35% increase in violent offences against rail staff last year read more
RMT condemns Bilfinger job cuts and demands action against zero-hours exploitation (5 Dec) – RMT condemned the decision by Bilfinger to cut over 100 North Sea workers jobs and has criticised Harbour Energy for briefing the media before notifying the union. Harbour which owns offshore platforms and uses Bilfinger to supply industrial services, made the proposed redundancies public on Monday, but RMT was only formally told two days later. The union warned that these cuts will not only hit those directly affected, but will also ripple through the wider North Sea supply chain, with potentially severe consequences for contractors, service providers and local economies. RMT said the move exposes the broken business model underpinning North Sea employment where workers are kept on ad-hoc or “zero-hours by stealth” contracts for years, going platform to platform without knowing if they will have income from one trip to the next read more
RMT members at Svitzer Terminals vote for strike action over sick pay (27 Nov) – RMT members employed by Svitzer Terminals at Fawley Esso Refinery have voted overwhelmingly for strike action following the company’s continued failure to resolve the long-running dispute over contractual sick pay. The dispute originates from the TUPE transfer of staff from Solent Towage to Svitzer Terminals, after the company failed to apply sick pay properly in line with long-standing practices. RMT has made multiple attempts over months to resolve the issue through talks but these have failed. This dispute affects all grades employed onboard the Svitzer tugs operating out of the refinery read more
RMT warn of national ballot over assaults after EMR go into dispute on the issue (26 Nov) – Rail union RMT, have put employers on notice over increasing assaults, warning of a national strike ballot across all train companies, if action is not taken. The union has gone into dispute with East Midlands Railway (EMR) following two recent violent incidents at the company. Staff members have had hot water thrown at them and been attacked with a fire extinguisher while at the weekend, rival football fans engaged in a mass brawl on a train stopped at Derby. RMT members have raised repeated concerns about reduced British Transport Police presence, faulty or inadequate safety equipment and the company’s lack of meaningful engagement on these issues. Members say they have exhausted all internal company processes, but no effective action has been taken to address the daily risks they face read more
DLR sick pay dispute leads to four days strike action (24 Nov) – RMT members working as cleaners on the DLR will begin strike action on Thursday over a lack of sick pay. Bidvest Noonan the contractor at the centre of this storm, has failed to offer company sick pay to its staff despite the fact a fellow contractor Amulet did so on the DLR. Both contractors operate on DLR under KAD who is a company hired by TfL to run the service. RMT has tried repeatedly to engage with Bidvest Noonan over the issue but the contractor said it was “discussing the matter with TfL,” despite having had more than six months to respond to the union’s demand for contractual sick pay. With no progress and no sign of meaningful engagement from the employer, members have no choice but to take strike action read more
RMT announces strike action on CrossCountry (21 Nov) – RMT will take strike action on CrossCountry next month after the company failed to resolve long-running issues on pay, staffing and previously agreed commitments. The union has tried repeatedly for months to reach a negotiated settlement. But regretfully the company has failed to honour agreements on overtime payments, staff resourcing and wage discrepancies for different grades. With no credible progress being made, RMT members have no other option than to take strike action on the following days:-
• Saturday 6 December
• Saturday 13 December
• Saturday 20 December
• Saturday 27 December read more
Carlisle Support Services must end pay freeze and return to meaningful talks as Northern revenue staff strike (14 Nov) – RMT heavily criticised Carlisle Support Services today for shutting down negotiations and refusing to make any pay offer, on the day contracted out Northern Trains revenue and gate line members take strike action read more
RMT declares dispute with Network Rail over falling real wages despite rising productivity (16 Oct) – Rail union RMT, has gone into dispute with Network Rail over pay, after years of falling real-terms wages despite major productivity improvements delivered by staff across the railway. Since 2021, cumulative RPI inflation has risen by around 27%, while Network Rail pay awards over the same period total just 17%. That means staff are, on average, 10% worse off in real terms than they were four years ago. Depending on grade, individual losses amount to between £3,500 and £9,600 compared with inflation read more
RMT to ballot Eurostar staff for strike action (13 Oct) – Rail union RMT, will ballot Eurostar members for strike action in a row over safety and conditions at work. The ballot comes as staff face worsening working conditions with unreliable trains, poor service recovery and operational safety concerns piling pressure on the workforce. Eurostar posted revenues of €2 billion (£1.7bn) in 2024. However staff say that money is not being invested in improving fleet reliability or ensuring safe and secure conditions at stations read more
ASLEF
Hull Trains drivers strike this weekend as row over ‘unfair sacking’ of colleague continues read more on Hull Live
ASLEF calls for an end to British Transport Police cuts (8 Dec) – Ahead of a meeting at which the next funding settlement for British Transport Police will be decided, ASLEF has written to the British Transport Police Authority to call for a settlement that will see no further cuts to police headcount over a three-year term. Alongside sibling rail unions and the TUC, ASLEF has also called for a longer term review of how British Transport Police is funded. The events of recent weeks have shown how important a properly funded, dedicated British Transport Police is to the safety of passengers and staff on our railways. Under the current funding regime, more than 500 BTP staff will be removed by the end of the year. This is despite violent offences against rail staff increasing by 35% since 2022/23 read more
Train drivers to strike on CrossCountry (9 Sept) – Train drivers at CrossCountry will walk out on strike on Friday 3rd October and refuse to work non-contractual overtime from Sunday 21st September over the company’s persistent refusal to adhere to negotiated agreements read more
TSSA
TSSA begins Amey strike ballot over pay (2 Dec) – Railway tracks with platform in view and lighting on. Early morning sky. Rail union TSSA is to ballot hundreds of members employed by Amey after the engineering company implemented a below-inflation pay offer amounting to a real-terms cut in wages. TSSA members employed by Amey across Scotland, Wales, North East, Midlands, London and all Southern regions will be asked to support strike action in the ballot which opens on Wednesday 3 December and closes at 12 noon on Monday 15 December. This action follows Amey’s decision to proceed with a pay offer of 2.2 per cent or £900 underpin, despite the offer being rejected by TSSA members. Industrial action would likely lead to delays and disruption in surveying and maintaining railway infrastructure which is key to a safe running network. Around three hundred TSSA members will be balloted read more
TSSA members to take industrial action at TransPennine Express (17 Nov) – TSSA rail union members working at TransPennine Express (TPE) as Operations Managers have voted unanimously in favour of both strike action and action short of strike, in a dispute over on call working arrangements. To date TPE has refused to offer an acceptable on-call, overtime and compensatory time off in lieu (TOIL) package to staff in the roles of Driver Managers, Operational Development Managers and Driver Operations Managers. Several dozen members at TPE responsible for safety issues and operational problems around the clock were balloted – and of those choosing to vote 100 per cent were in favour of strike action and action short of a strike read more
Unite
BREAKING NEWS!! Scandinavian Airlines workers at Heathrow in Christmas strikes (9 Dec) – Cabin crew to strike for four days over pay. Grinch-style behaviour from employer. Over 130 cabin crew working for Scandinavian Airlines Services (SAS), based out of Heathrow, are taking strike action that could see festive flights to and from Scandinavia under threat. Members of Unite are furious at the lack of a decent pay offer from the company with the current offer below the rate of inflation and not being backdated to their pay anniversary date. They will now walk out on 22, 23, 24 and 26 December. Cabin crew are so badly paid they have reported having to use food banks when landing in Scandinavia as they cannot afford meals before flying back home to the UK. While other crew members report resorting to having to sleep in their cars overnight in service station because SAS won’t pay for or subsidise hotels for staff read more
Spirit takeover must lead to investment for jobs and a future for NI aerospace, Unite (8 Dec) – Airbus will take on production lines in the supply chain of its own aircraft with Boeing taking over the remainder of the sites. Unite has called on Boeing and Airbus to confirm their plans for Spirit Aerosystems following today’s announcement that the manufacturer’s sites in Northern Ireland will transfer over to the aerospace giants read more
Metrolink Manchester tram New Year’s Eve and Christmas party season strikes back on (8 Dec) – Strikes by around 320 tram drivers working for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited later this month are back on, after workers overwhelmingly voted to reject the company’s proposals for tackling driver fatigue. Drivers at Metrolink Manchester have the worst driving conditions across the UK compared to other light rail networks. Their shift patterns mean they work 450 hours over a 12-week period. This results in some drivers working 50 hours on, followed by just two days off, then back into another 50-hour work pattern, while many others work for six days in a row. They also have fewer rest days compared to colleagues in other operational departments such as engineering and customer support. Drivers say they are experiencing physical and mental health issues including exhaustion, cold and flu-like symptoms and stress due to the way their rotas are structured and the lack of proper breaks. They are also concerned that fatigue is putting themselves and passengers at risk as it affects concentration. The Unite members had been balloted on new plans by Metrolink to change rotas and add in additional rest days, however around 60 new drivers would need to be recruited in order to implement these changes meaningfully. Metrolink has claimed this could take up to two years, however Unite believes this can be done more quickly with proper investment in training and short-term service frequency adjustments…Drivers involved in the dispute at Metrolink work at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots in the city and operate trams on all routes in Greater Manchester, meaning the strikes will be very disruptive. They will walk out on 19, 20 and 31 December read more
Bassetlaw ICU nurses fire and rehire strike escalates (8 Dec) – Forced rotation of nurses between Bassetlaw and Doncaster attempt to run down Bassetlaw’s ICU services. Strikes by intensive care nurses at Bassetlaw hospital over fire and rehire contract changes will escalate across December, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The nurses are striking over fire and rehire contract changes that will force them to rotate between Bassetlaw and Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The trust is threatening to dismiss the nurses from their current contracts and rehire them on new ones on 12 December. The nurses fear the transfers are one more step towards Bassetlaw hospital losing its ICU permanently through ‘decommissioning by stealth’. They would also face overly long commutes before and after 13-hour shifts, with the risk of exhaustion putting themselves and patients at risk…Unite is considering legal challenges to Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust should it proceed with its plans. The trust claims the rotation plans are to increase the nurses’ exposure to level three patients (those who are ventilated or have multiple organ failure). The Trust’s proposal, however, would not guarantee increased exposure to level 3 patients. Unite believes the real reason behind the plans is to run down Bassetlaw’s ICU services. The nurses began action short of strike action through a ban on working on any ward or unit other than Bassetlaw ICU on 13 November and took two days of strike action in late November. They will strike again from 15 December to 19 December. Industrial action will intensify is the dispute is not resolved read more
Leicestershire Xmas shopping shutdown during Arriva bus workers strike (5 Dec) – 300 Arriva drivers, depot and office staff angry over inadequate pay offer. Around 300 Leicester, Hinckley and Coalville Arriva bus workers will strike over the main Christmas shopping period, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The drivers, depot and office staff have rejected an inadequate pay offer from Arriva, which made pre-tax profits of €156m in 2024…They will strike on 11, 12, 13, 15, 20 and 21 December and 5 and 6 January read more
Festive Luton Airport travel turmoil as DHL workers will strike (5 Dec) – EasyJet passengers flying from London Luton Airport to major holiday destinations this Christmas will face disruption as DHL check in and baggage handling staff have voted to take strike action. The staff are outsourced to easyJet by DHL and work on check in desks and as baggage handlers. They operate on popular routes to and from Luton including to countries such as Spain, Germany, Italy and Czech Republic. Around 200 workers, members of Unite, are taking action after rejecting the company’s latest offer of a 4.5 per cent pay rise. Workers believe this doesn’t go far enough to address the low pay rates, the current cost of living crisis and rising food, fuel and heating bills with workers struggling to afford essentials, while DHL workers at Gatwick earn around £3 an hour more for doing the same job…Strikes by DHL workers at Luton will take place from 03:00 on Friday 19 December to 03:00 Monday 22 December, then from 03:00 on Boxing Day (26 December) to 03:00 on Monday 29 December read more
Bosch Rexroth workers set for week-long strike action after new offer rejected (5 Dec) – Dispute based on Glenrothes workers facing drastic wage cut
Unite has confirmed today (5 December) that over 280 Unite members at Bosch Rexroth based in Glenrothes will strike next week following the rejection of a new pay offer. The workers emphatically rejected the latest unacceptable offer by Bosch Rexroth which would have still drastically cut pay by up to 22 per cent a month through short term working over nine months. The initial cut in wages proposed by the company was up to 40 per cent. Bosch Rexroth in its latest offer further proposed an annualised hours system which could put workers into 37 hours of debt. The system means that if a worker is paid for more hours than they have worked the company can recover the overpayment on a debt basis. The initial proposal was up to 70 hours in debt. Strike action will start at 06:00 on 8 December ending at 05:59 on 15 December. Pickets will be situated outside the factory at Viewfield Industrial Estate, Glenrothes, KY6 2RD. Strike action was supported by 95 per cent of Unite’s membership in a high turnout read more
DfT bus funding should be used to buy UK-made vehicles, Unite (4 Dec) – Commenting on the announcement by the Department for Transport of multi-year funding for local councils to improve bus services, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The funding is excellent news, but the government should be mandating that councils using the funds to buy new buses are obligated to buy them from UK manufacturers…” read more
Strikes at Diageo Belfast suspended after improved pay offer (4 Dec) – Planned eight-day strike action at Diageo in Belfast, that would have seen shortages of Guinness Zero this Christmas, has been suspended following an improved pay offer from the employer. Around 90 workers were set to strike tomorrow (Friday 5th December) but workers will now vote on the new deal [ballot closing on Monday 8th December] read more
Sports Direct branded UK’s meanest employer as it refuses pay rise for staff (4 Dec) – Unite has today (4 December) branded Sports Direct the UK’s meanest employer as it has refused to offer its staff a pay rise despite making huge profits. It comes as its parent company Frasers Group reported its half year results today. Revenues totalled £2.6 billion for the six months to October 26, up by five per cent compared with the year before. Yet its workers at its warehouse site in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, earn just nine pence above the minimum wage. Despite Unite being in pay talks with Sports Direct for the past 15 months regarding these workers, the employer has refused to give them a pay rise. There are 4,500 workers at this site. However, just 500 of these workers are on contracts and the rest are agency workers which puts them in a precarious situation. These workers, members of Unite, are paid just £12.30 an hour – nine pence more than the minimum wage of £12.21 per hour. Unite is calling for them to earn the real living wage, currently £12.60 an hour but set to rise to £13.45 per hour by this coming April. Despite several meetings and Unite presenting several alternatives to ensure a pay rise for its members and the involvement of conciliatory service Acas, Sports Direct has not put forward a pay offer. At a final meeting with Acas two weeks ago, Sports Direct management said it would be offering nothing to the workers at the warehouse. To add insult to injury, Sports Direct has since implemented a miserly bonus scheme of just £50 per person annually. Despite the fact this bonus is so low, the scheme is incredibly strict and difficult to achieve. It was imposed by Sports Direct and not negotiated despite the firm being in the middle of pay talks with Unite read more
Cambridge Christmas bus chaos as Stagecoach workers strike over pay (4 Dec) – Cambridge is bracing for Christmas bus chaos as 200 Stagecoach workers strike over a reduction in overtime rates, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today. The workers have rejected a pay deal that will see their overtime rates fall by 12 per cent between Monday and Friday and by 20 per cent on weekends and bank holidays…Stagecoach made operating profits of £97.3 million in the year to April 2024 on sales of £1.6 billion. The workers, including drivers and engineers, will strike on 17, 20, 22, 24 and 27 December, severely impacting bus services across the city. Industrial action will escalate if the dispute is not resolved read more
Christmas chaos at BAE Systems as workers escalate strike action (4 Dec) – Members of the Unite, the UK’s largest trade union in the defence and aerospace sector, are fighting against a real-terms pay cut being offered by BAE despite the company making over £3 billion in profits. Around 160 staff who work in safety critical roles will take further strike action at least until 24 December, that will see sites in Warton and Salmesbury severely affected. Previous strikes have seen managers without the same level of skills, and qualifications attempting to fill the roles done by experienced workers. Other staff will be taking action short of strikes including a refusal to travel, refusal of overtime and a refusal to take on additional work… Staff have already been on strike from 26 November until 17 December and this latest announcement will now see industrial action continue through until Christmas Eve read more
Bilfinger offshore workers to strike over pensions (2 Dec) – Unite has announced that over 400 offshore members employed by Bilfinger UK Limited have supported taking strike action in an escalating dispute over pensions. A majority of Bilfinger workers have emphatically backed strike action in a fight to secure a fairer pension deal. Unite members are demanding that Bilfinger move to a gross earnings pension scheme like many other private sector and offshore companies because workers are losing out on thousands of pounds in pension contributions due to their pattern of pay being weekly. The majority of Bilfinger workers are enrolled in a statutory minimum workplace pension scheme where the company pays a maximum three per cent of “qualifying earnings” contribution. The qualifying earnings income is between £6,240 and £50,270. Anything above or below that does not factor in pension contributions. It means Bilfinger’s annual pension contribution is capped at £1,320.90 per year irrespective of income. Unite estimates that around £2254 is being lost every year in employer pension contributions when compared with a gross salary pension scheme for a worker earning £59,580.36…If Bilfinger fails to act on the pensions issue then strikes will be called in the coming weeks read more
Council and school staff need a fair pay rise, say unions (2 Dec) – Unions representing 1.4 million council and school staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are calling for a wage rise of at least £3,000 to recognise soaring workloads and increasing household costs, they say today (Monday 1 December). Unite, UNISON and GMB have submitted their joint annual local government pay claim for 2026-27, demanding a substantial award from April after years of effective pay cuts, which have left staff struggling to keep up with rising household bills. The unions are warning pay for council and school staff continues to lag behind many other public services. In turn, low wages have led to a recruitment and retention crisis while demand for key services – such as social care, children’s services and housing support – has soared. Local authority employers gave a 3.2% uplift this year, but that has already been surpassed by inflation, which currently stands at 3.6%. The pay claim for 2026-27 calls for an increase of at least £3,000 or 10% (whichever is greater) for all staff, as well as a minimum hourly rate of £15. Unions say that since 2010, the real value of local government pay has fallen by more than 26%. That has left many workers finding it hard to keep pace with housing costs, food prices, transport fares and energy bills read more
Christmas Guinness drought as workers announce eight days of pay strikes (28 Nov) – Diageo workforce unanimously votes to reject inadequate pay offer and to take strike action. The UK is facing a Guinness zero drought this Christmas as workers at the company’s Belfast brewery announced eight days of strikes next month in a dispute over pay. The workers who are members of Unite, will begin strike action on Friday 5 December and walkouts will continue until the early hours of Saturday 13 December. The approximately 90 workers are demanding a substantial increase in pay to close the pay gap with Diageo employees at the company’s site in Runcorn, England read more
VUE St Enoch’s workers support first-ever Scottish cinema chain strike (27 Nov) – Unite cinema members join Village Hotel Glasgow in hospitality workers fight back. Workers at the most profitable VUE cinema in Scotland have overwhelmingly backed strike action in a historic first at a Scottish cinema chain. Dozens of workers at VUE’s St Enoch centre site will now take strike action in order to secure the Real Living Wage for all workers aged 18 and over, trade union recognition, and safe subsidised transport for workers at the end of shifts. Strike action will take place for four weeks from Thursday 11 December and end on Wednesday 7 January. Unite represents the overwhelming majority of the customer assistant and team leaders at the VUE St Enoch’s site… VUE becomes the second Glasgow hospitality venue to be hit by disruption after Unite’s membership at Village Hotels in Govan also overwhelmingly supported strike action. The Village Hotels strike is set to begin on Friday this week (28 November) lasting for five weeks until 2 January 2026. VUE Entertainment Limited made a profit amounting to £25.3m in 2024, up from £10.5m in 2023 read more
Festive and January sales London bus chaos as drivers vote to strike (27 Nov) – There will be travel chaos in London this December and January as 350 bus drivers will walk out in a dispute over union busting and bullying. The drivers, who are members of Unite, work for the Lea Interchange Bus Company (part of Stagecoach) at the Lea Interchange Bus Garage in Leyton, East London. They operate several routes across north east London. Unite representatives at the depot have been the target of aggressive behaviour since a change in management a few months ago. The chair of the branch was suspended, dismissed and then reinstated, while another rep has been suspended on trumped-up charges following an altercation with management. Unite believes the reps are being targeted for undertaking trade union activities, which goes against employment law… After 98 per cent of Unite members voted to strike, drivers will walk out on 12 and 13 December and 8 and 9 January. This will impact busy Christmas and January sales shopping periods as one affected route is the 97 which serves the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. Other routes that will see delays and cancellations will be the 58, 86, 135, 236, 276, 308, 339, 488, D8, W13, W14 and 678 read more. Email messages of solidarity to [email protected]
Unite Hospitality Village Hotel Glasgow Strike Action (27 Nov) – Workers at the Village Hotel Glasgow, including staff in the Pub & Grill and the franchised Starbucks – have taken the bold step of launching five weeks of strike action from 28 November 2025 to 2 January 2026 read more
NO to union-busting at Sanctuary read more on Unite Housing Workers LE/1111 branch website
Unite’s anger as Aer Lingus plans to close Manchester Airport base (24 Nov) – Unite has today (24 November) responded with anger to proposals by Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus to close its Manchester Airport base. The airline has issued a redundancy notice, which has put over 200 workers at risk including 150 cabin crew who are represented by Unite. Aer Lingus claims this is due to the base “underperforming’” but has failed to provide any information to support its claim. Last year, Aer Lingus recorded an operating profit of €205m and has projected profits of around £35 million from just two aircraft operating three long haul routes at Manchester Airport…Cabin crew at Aer Lingus, who work on the three routes to Barbados, New York JFK and Orlando operating out of Manchester Airport Terminal 2, have been involved in a pay dispute with their employer since last month and have walked out in several days of strike action. While Unite members have voted for further strike action, the union has offered to halt this in order to properly negotiate with Aer Lingus on the future of the Manchester base read more
Transport for Greater Manchester strikes increase after employer cancels talks (24 Nov) – In Manchester Good Employment Week TfGM acting as anything but good employer. Strikes by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers will go ahead tomorrow after the employer cancelled planned talks today (Monday). More than 200 Unite members, who undertake vital roles including ticketing, passenger assistance and information services for the bus network, began industrial action in October. TfGM is breaking the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter it signed up to by refusing to enter into talks with Unite to find a fair resolution to the dispute read more
Christmas delivery chaos as UPS workers ballot for strikes (21 Nov) – Consumers are facing major delays to Christmas and January sales parcel deliveries nationwide as Unite members working for UPS ballot for strike action. Over 2,000 Unite members at the firm, which is headquartered in Feltham, West London, are being balloted over industrial action in a dispute about pay and conditions. Workers including delivery drivers have rejected the company’s latest pay offer of a 2.8 per cent increase and 3.2 per cent increase for 2025 and 2026 respectively. The pay offer is less than the inflation rate (RPI) of 4.5 per cent and a real terms pay cut…The ballot opened this week and closes on 3 December. UPS has already attempted to interfere in the democratic process by putting up posters in its workplaces advising workers not to vote in the ballot. Action could begin in mid-December, hitting last-minute Christmas gift deliveries as well as purchases made during the popular Boxing Day and January sales read more
First Glasgow workers strike ballot to force buses off the road (19 Nov) – Dispute to hit Glasgow bus depots as workers demand better jobs, pay and conditions. Unite has confirmed today (Wednesday 19 November) that workers who clean and refuel buses for First Bus in Glasgow are being balloted over jobs, pay and conditions. Around 50 First Bus cleaners, fuellers and shunters at the Caledonia, Scotstoun, Blantyre and Overtown bus depots are involved in the dispute. The bus workers and cleaners are demanding that a proposed pay increase is brought into line with other bargaining groups including drivers, because they are the lowest paid within the First group. Without the cleaning, refuelling and re-charging of First Glasgow’s fleet then buses across Glasgow will have to be taken off the roads for safety, cleanliness and re-charging reasons… The ballot opens today (19 November) and closes on 16 December. If the ballot is successful, then strike action is expected to take place from late December read more
Unite launches strikes ballot over Edinburgh council tracking drivers (19 Nov) – Ballot opens on Friday 21 November and closes on 5 January 2026. Unite the union will ballot around 100 workers employed by the City of Edinburgh Council in a dispute over tracking drivers in housing services. The dispute is over the use of data collected by telematics in vehicles. In June 2025, Edinburgh council proposed introducing ‘exception reports’ which record each time a vehicle is used more than an hour before or after a shift. These reports are thereafter sent on to line manages.
Unions previously negotiated a telematics policy with the council so that it was based on the system improving driving standards and ensuring safety. It had protections against using the technology to intrude on members’ privacy. The policy was agreed to in May 2023. Under the policy, managers must request telematics data from Fleet Services and have legitimate reasons for accessing the data. The council is now trying to breach its own policy through exception reports. Unite’s housing services members are concerned about ‘overreach’ into their privacy, and the potential abuse of the telematics system by management to target workers which will lead to disciplinary triggers if a commute takes more than an hour. The union has raised repeated concerns with Edinburgh council to avoid an escalation in the industrial dispute, but management have continued to signal their intention to proceed with the exception reports… The ballot opens on Friday 21 November and closes on 5 January 2026. If the ballot for industrial action is successful, then industrial action in the new year by Unite’s members would lead to all housing services repairs and maintenance being cancelled for Edinburgh tenants. In a consultative ballot in August, Unite’s members across all housing services trades including electricians, joiners, heating engineers, and plumbers overwhelmingly backed strike action and action short of a strike read more
Diligenta staff start national strike in pay dispute (18 Nov) – Unite members at five Diligenta sites walk out today over pay cut. Unite members employed by finance sector outsourcer Diligenta have today (Tuesday 18 November) started industrial action across five sites in a dispute over pay. Diligenta management have been told for months by Unite that the strike action could have been avoided if they had given its workforce an acceptable pay rise this year. The strike action will cause considerable disruption to Dilgenta’s many clients, but the company has only got itself to blame. Management have had every opportunity to make Unite members a fair pay offer but has refused to even take part in negotiations. Approximately 1,000 Unite members working at Diligenta sites in: Liverpool, Glasgow, Reading, Edinburgh and Stirling will hold an initial 24-hour strike on Tuesday 18 November from 00:01 until 23.59. The dispute is now set to escalate as further strikes have now been scheduled for Friday 28 November, Monday 1 December, and Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 December read more
Mental health unit workers in London escalate strike action in pay row (17 Nov) – Staff in Newham walking out for six weeks this winter to win liveable salary. Dozens of staff that keep a London mental health facility in a fit and proper state are striking from today over a failure by their employer to pay decent wages. Members of Unite will begin a further two weeks of industrial action from 17 November to 30 November, followed by an additional four-week strike over the Christmas and New Year period, running from 8 December to 5 January. This escalation comes after three previous rounds of industrial action causing disruption for patients, staff and the public over four weeks in September and October. Grosvenor Facilities Management (GFM), generate millions in profit from the taxpayer through NHS outsourcing and PFI contracts but it continues to refuse to cover the modest cost required to lift this small group of workers out of poverty pay and bring them in line with their NHS colleagues on NHS terms and conditions. Instead of engaging constructively, GFM has spent thousands of pounds bussing in staff from other sites and contracting expensive agency and catering companies to run a skeleton service read more
How You Can Support the Newham strike:-
- Donate to the strike fund: https://gofund.me/5a1a59672
- Model Motion: Solidarity with outsourced NHS workers at Newham Centre for Mental Health – Outsourced workers at Newham Centre for Mental Health are on strike demanding NHS equivalent pay, terms and conditions and union recognition. The domestics, chefs, porters, reception and maintenance workers are some of the lowest paid in London’s NHS. Their employer GFM provides “facilities management” services as part of a 30 year Private Finance Initiative contract worth over £213 million. While GFM and their PFI associates extract multi million pound profits from the NHS, the workers who actually run and maintain the hospital are paid poverty wages and denied basic rights like occupational sick pay and unsocial hours payments. GFM’s denial of occupational sick pay not only disadvantages individual workers but undermines hospital safety by driving sick and infectious workers into work. We resolve to support the GFM workers by making a donation of £___ to their strike fund. We demand the NHS is returned to full public ownership with outsourced workers brought back in-house on NHS pay, terms and conditions.We will send a solidarity message to the striking workers and publicise the GFM workers campaign to our members.
- Donations to strike fund can be made by bank transfer to the ELFT Unite branch LE7113/L. Contact [email protected] for details
Turners’ tanker drivers resume halt to fuel deliveries at nation’s largest airports (17 Nov) – New supply shock to Edinburgh and Glasgow airlines
Unite can confirm that Grangemouth based tanker drivers working for Turners (Soham) Limited are set to resume strike action today (17 November) in an escalating pay dispute impacting major airlines operating at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. Strike action commences at 02:45 on Monday (17 November) concluding at 23:59 on 18 November. This will be followed by further strike action on 20 to 21 November over the same timeframe. The latest announcement follows an ongoing impasse in talks involving Unite and Turners through the auspices of the conciliation service Acas. The company has so far refused to improve upon its ‘miserly’ one per cent pay offer for 2025 and marginal improvements on working conditions and allowances. Turners has proposed a pay offer in the following year based on the CPI inflation rate in January 2026. The two-year offer was overwhelmingly rejected by Unite’s membership read more
Further bus strikes hit South West London as dispute escalates (14 Nov) – Drivers, engineers and stores workers to walk out over below inflation offer. Over 350 workers employed by London Transit bus company in West London are to take further strike action after rejecting the company’s latest pay offer. Workers have already walked out for four days earlier this autumn and are now heading to the picket line on 14, 17, 18, 26, 27 and 28 Nov. Drivers, engineers and stores workers based at the Westbourne Park depot are furious at the below inflation pay offer they have received from their parent company, First Bus read more
SAS cabin crew balloted over potential strike action this Christmas (13 Nov) – Pay row means flights to Scandinavia under threat in festive season. Over 100 cabin crew working for SAS Crew Services, based out of Heathrow, are being balloted over potential strike action that would see festive flights to and from Scandinavia under threat. Members of the Unite union are furious at a lack of a decent pay offer from the company with the current offer below the rate of inflation and not being backdated to their pay anniversary date. SAS has only offered a 3.5 per cent pay increase which, with inflation currently at 4.5 per cent represents a real-terms pay cut for hard-working cabin crew staff… Cabin crew are vital to SAS’s UK operations and any industrial action would see widespread flight cancellations in the run up to Christmas. The ballot will open on 14 November and closes on 4 December. Industrial action could then be taken across the festive period read more
MCL Medics set to strike on Harbour Energy platforms (11 Nov) – Unite the union can confirm that over a dozen offshore medics employed by MCL Medics, who provide lifesaving services, are set for strike action. The medics work on the Armada, Britannia, Jasmine, Judy, Lomond, and North Everest assets owned by Harbour Energy. In a long-running dispute over pay levels and training allowances, MCL Medics have backed strike action, and unanimously rejected an unacceptable pay offer from the company. The medics are now set for three 24-hour stoppages over 21-22 November, 5-6 December and 19-20 December. A continuous ban on overtime will also start on 21 November read more
Imperial College union membership grows as strike escalates (11 Nov) – Dodgy pay figures used by hugely wealthy university driving anger amongst workers. There has been an increase in the number of Imperial College London workers taking industrial action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said as it announced further strikes. Unite membership at Imperial has increased by 10 per cent due to the dispute and is continuing to grow, with other unions also reporting an increase in new members at the university. Workers are angry that the university’s management is refusing to restart talks even after it was revealed that faulty benchmarking data was used to calculate an insulting two per cent pay deal it has imposed on the workforce. This imposed deal is in effect a substantial real-terms pay cut, as RPI inflation currently stands at 4.5 per cent. This equates to staff having to work for a week for free this year… Around 1,200 teaching and non-teaching workers are involved in the dispute, including around 250 Unite members. The workers took four days of strike action in October. They will walk out again on 13, 14, 25, 26, 27 and 28 November. Industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved read more
Newhaven workers to strike over pay and unreasonable behaviour by employer (30 Oct) – Veolia workers furious at company attitude to negotiations and poor pay offer. Workers at a Newhaven incinerator plant are to take strike action this winter due to the poor pay offer from their employer. Nearly 20 Unite members at the Veolia ERF (Energy Recovery Facility) in Newhaven, Sussex are exasperated by the company’s low-ball pay offer alongside their appalling approach to negotiations in Acas-mediated talks. Workers have been trying to negotiate a better pay deal since February, with a pay anniversary of 1 January, so are now close to being owed a full year of back pay. Veolia, who Unite have a long-running dispute with in Sheffield, are refusing to enter negotiations in good faith and will now see their ERF shutdown from 10-14 November, 15-19 December, 12-16 January and 9-13 February…Unite is currently involved in a long-running dispute with Veolia over trade union recognition at a Sheffield refuse site read more
GNI: Gas workers vote for industrial action (29 Oct) – Move follows company breach of collective agreement. Management must act to avoid escalation. Unite, which represents workers throughout the energy sector, said today (Wednesday) that members in Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action after the company breached collectively agreed procedures in relation to a member. Earlier this month, GNI attempted to convert a Unite member’s legitimate grievance into a disciplinary action while denying their right to be represented during the process, as required under long-standing collectively-agreed procedures read more
SSPCA workers’ strike action over real terms pay cut (28 Oct) – ‘Chronic’ low pay as millions sit in reserves and new executive earns bumper wage. Animals (SSPCA) will take strike action in a dispute over a real terms pay cut and years of ‘chronic low pay’. 24-hour strike action is set to take place on 5 November after no breakthrough in talks with the SSPCA. Unite members overwhelmingly backed strike action after rejecting a two year pay offer which amounts to a significant real terms pay cut. In 2025, the offer on average amounts to around 1.6 per cent with some members having their pay frozen. A one-off payment has been tabled worth around two per cent. In 2026, only a two per cent offer has been tabled. The broader cost of inflation has just hit 4.5 per cent in September. The SSPCA after just one year of being a living wage employer is also planning to end this development. The SSPCA has two main workplaces those being its headquarters in Dunfermline and at Cardonald, Glasgow. Unite’s members at the SSPCA look after the feeding, cleaning, and general health of animals. This includes the veterinary team, animal rescue workers, inspectors who deal with animal neglect and enforce entry to rescue animals, along with helpline workers who deal with calls from the public read more
Shelter workers balloting for strikes over pay and working conditions (28 Oct) – Workers at housing charity Shelter are being balloted for industrial action in a dispute over pay and working conditions. It comes as around 550 workers, members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, have been offered a below-inflation 1.5 per cent pay rise. Shelter’s management have refused to negotiate with Unite on pay. Shelter is a leading housing and homelessness charity, which was set up in 1966. One of its core aims is reducing poverty. Its latest financial report from earlier this year showed income totalled £81.33m in 2023/24. This is £7.67m, or 10 per cent, higher than the previous year due to a significant increase in donations read more
Further strike dates at Sellafield site over lack of progress in talks (23 Oct) – Workers demanding site-specific allowances like other nuclear sites. Workers at the Sellafield nuclear site are to take further strike action in the ongoing dispute over Sellafield-specific allowances. Other nuclear projects such as Hinkley Point C offer pay premiums that Sellafield employers have refused to match. In the latest development in the ongoing dispute, workers at 6 subcontractors are to walk out from 27 October to 2 November. This new phase of the escalation plan will cause widespread disruption due to targeting production more effectively in conjunction with an overtime ban read more
Unite ballots thousands of HE staff over pay (21 Oct) – Staff at 47 higher education institutions to be balloted by Unite for strike action. Thousands of staff across the UK’s higher education institutions are being balloted for strike action after being offered an appalling real-terms pay cut by their employers. Members of the Unite, along with members of EIS, UCU and Unison, are being asked to take industrial action following a 1.4 per cent pay offer for 2025/26 from UCEA, the employer’s body. This is significantly below inflation and therefore represents a real-terms pay cut. To add insult to injury the real terms pay cut was imposed by universities on 1 August…The ballot opened on 20 October and runs until 1 December. If successful, industrial action could take place throughout the first half of 2026 read more
London Grosvenor Casinos workers ballot for strikes over Christmas party season (21 Oct) – The chips are down for Grosvenor Casinos this upcoming festive party season as almost 140 workers are being balloted over strike action. Licenced gaming staff are looking to take industrial action from the end of November until the New Year, disrupting their employer’s profitable holiday period, after rejecting the company’s offer of a below-inflation 2.5 per cent pay rise. The affected workers do jobs such as running the poker rooms and roulette tables – these are historically difficult roles to fill as they require specialist skills, rigorous training and a legal requirement for staff to hold a licence to work in the industry. The workers operate from the three biggest Grosvenor Casinos in the UK, all based in London. These are Rialto in Leicester Square, the Victoria on Edgware Road and the Gloucester, Gloucester Road. Grosvenor Casinos is a chain of over 50 casinos located in major towns and cities across the UK, owned by the highly profitable Rank Group which saw its profits surge 38 per cent to £63.7m in the year to 30 June 2025. During this period, Grosvenor revenues rose 14 per cent, with average weekly takings hitting £7.3m read more
ABP: Craigavon workers to commence all-out strike (17 Oct) – Over 150 workers to down tools in pursuit of decent pay. Workers at Anglo Beef Processors UK (ABP) Craigavon plant, where Unite represents over 150 meat packers, trimmers, distribution, kill line and boning workers, have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action. Unite is seeking a fair pay increase for its members who are paid a piece rate. Management’s offer of three per cent with a one-off cash payment of £100 and three per cent from April 2026, would amount to a real terms pay cut. The strike will see shortages in beef and lamb on the shelves of many supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Aldi… Management at the site have been provided notice of planned all out strike action by workers which will commence from 00.01am on Monday 27 October read more
Sheffield Wednesday workers take action at multimillionaire owner’s failure to pay wages (9 Oct) – Non-football staff joining Unite to challenge ‘disgusting behaviour’ of owner Dejphon Chansiri. Unite, the UK’s leading union, has mobilised against Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri for his repeated failure to pay the club’s non-football staff their full wages. Membership of Unite has rocketed at the club in recent weeks due to ongoing issues over unpaid wages read more
Health and social care workers in Northern Ireland in strike ballot (7 Oct) – Unite to ballot members following failure of department of health to deliver pay parity and safe staffing. Unite is to ballot over 4,500 workers in Northern Ireland’s health and social care system, for industrial action. This follows the failure of the department of health to deliver on pay parity and safe staffing. The union has members among professional and technical staff, including porters, as well as among paramedics in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service read more
Disruption to London police as workers ballot for strikes on pay (7 Oct) – There is set to be major disruption to Metropolitan Police services on Fireworks Night – one of the busiest days of the year for the UK’s biggest force. Over 140 Unite members are currently being balloted for strike action in a dispute over pay, with the plan to walk out on 5 November. Unite members involved in the dispute work for Met CC as call centre staff who take calls when the general public report crimes, and also within the Met’s fleet services as technicians and office staff servicing and dispatching vehicles such as police cars and motorbikes read more
Strikes to hit Birmingham textiles company (24 Sept) – Workers at Johnson Workwear to walk out over real-terms pay cut. Over 50 Birmingham workers at leading workwear supplier, Johnsons, are taking strike action over the company’s latest pay offer. Members of the Unite union, Britain’s leading trade union, are furious at being offered just 2.8 per cent and overwhelmingly rejected this real terms pay cut. With inflation currently at 4.6 per cent, this offer would worsen the cost-of-living crisis where housing, food and utility prices are rising faster than wages. Johnson are the leading supplier of work wear and protective wear in the UK and provide luxury linen services to hotels, restaurants and the hospitality industry, are a hugely profitable company. Its latest accounts show profits of over £63 million. Strikes are taking place on 26 September, 3 October, 10 October and 17 October 2025. There is also a ban on all overtime that came into place on 18 September. Staff on the factory floor currently earn just £12.38 per hour, just 17 per cent an hour above the national minimum wage read more
CWU
CWU LIVE – Retired From Work But Still Active In The Union (4 Dec) – They might not be at work anymore, but our retired members play an important role in the union. They bring decades of expertise to help improve conditions for future generations of workers. NEC Lead for Retired Members, Norman Candy, joins us on today’s show to discuss the vital work that retired members do read more
DHL workers voting on “significant” wage offer (8 Oct) – DHL workers are being recommended to vote for a “significant” wage rise offer. Communication Workers Union (CWU) members at the logistics giant are being encouraged to accept an improved deal negotiated by the CWU, after workers accepted the union’s recommendation to reject the initial offer. For warehouse operatives and van drivers, the new offer is a £1000 annual wage increase – a 33% rise from their previous offer of £750. Meanwhile, drivers on a 37- and 37.5-hour week will be offered an £1100 increase, with those on a 45-hour week gaining £1200 – an offer increased by 23.3% and 10.7% respectively. The offer is a substantial increase from previous offers by the company, and much higher in comparison to the standard DHL award, which stood at 2.5% in 2025. It will also be backdated from 1st April 2025, the sum of which will be included in pay at the earliest chance, should the deal be accepted by members read more
Support the Tik Tok workers – CWU UTAW branch (UTAW_uk on X/Twitter)
✊ Join us to demand fair redundancy packages for over 300 workers✊
Last week TikTok announced a mass redundancy putting over 300 of its London employees at risk. TikTok employees have known these cuts were coming and were a week away from voting on union recognition. TikTok has timed this to hurt our movement and avoid scrutiny and transparency on a sham redundancy.
💪 WE’RE DEMANDING A FAIR REDUNDANCY PACKAGE OR REDPLOYMENT FOR ALL
💪 WE’RE STANDING AGAINST TIKTOK’S UNION BUSTING
💪 WE’RE CALLING TIKTOK OUT FOR ITS RECKLESS ATTITUDE TO ONLINE SAFETY
Read more about TikTok’s union busting redundancies here
CWU members in Santander need your support. They have faced outsourcing, offshoring and technology is being used to negatively impact our members futures. They are now fighting back with a joint campaign with Advance Union. All CWU members, family members, friends and the wider public can help us by signing and sharing this petition.
Every signature counts – https://cwu.eaction.org.uk/cwuadvancepetition
PCS
You can show your support to the strikes by PCS members by:
- Making donations to the PCS Fighting Fund Levy account, sort code: 60-83-01, account no. 20331490
- Sending solidarity messages to [email protected]
Fears that pensions recovery period could take longer (8 Dec) – For many months PCS has campaigned to improve the standard of service for members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme which has been criticised by both the National Audit Office and the parliamentary public accounts committee. As feared, the transition between scheme administrators, from MyCSP to Capita, means things got worse before, hopefully, getting better. Many members have contacted the union about incomplete information they are viewing in the new online portal read more
Tate strikers show strength and creativity (8 Dec) – Solidarity and creativity were all to the fore from over 150 PCS members engaged in 7 days of strike action across all 5 Tate Gallery sites over the employer’s refusal to offer workers an inflation-proof pay award for a second consecutive year. PCS organised 6 days of picketing in total, from 26 November to 2 December, allowing a day’s rest on Sunday, 30 November. The strike action was a fantastic display of creativity, which reminded bosses everywhere why you should never upset art workers…The picketing concluded on 2 December with more than 175 people attending the picket line. This was followed by a trip to The Lord Nelson in Southwark where workers gathered to celebrate the end of seven days of strike action. PCS is currently engaged in intensive talks with Tate Galleries to resolve the dispute. Both parties last met on Thursday (4 December). For further information, contact PCS Culture Group Secretary Hareem Ghani: [email protected] read more
British Library Christmas shopping tips leave bitter taste for PCS members (7 Dec) – Festive shopping tips sent by the British Library ahead of the latest round of strike action were about as welcome as a lump of coal from Santa. Our low-paid members at the London institution are set to strike from 8 to 12 December in their ongoing dispute over pay. In meeting with the British Library, PCS has repeatedly highlighted the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on workers. Despite this, BL management has refused to increase its offer beyond the 3.8% minimum – refusing to account for the 2% restoration from last year’s shortfall whereby BL workers were paid 3% compared to other public sector workers who received 5% read more
PCS pressure leads to U-turn on closure of police station front counters (4 Dec) – The Met Police has cited “ongoing negotiations” with PCS as the reason 10 front counters will remain open. In May 2025, PCS was advised by the Met Police that it faced a £260 million funding gap and would be embarking on a money-saving programme. It announced in July that it planned to move from 37 front counters to 19, of which 8 would operate 24/7 and 11 would remain open on extended hours, in a move designed to save £7m read more
PCS gives evidence to Parliament on FCDO restructure (4 Dec) – On Tuesday 25 November, PCS officers gave evidence to the International Development Committee as part of the Future of UK aid and development assistance. PCS officers Lois Austin (FCDO group secretary) and Martin John (National officer) appeared in front of the international development committee on 25 November. They gave evidence on FCDO 2030, and the major restructuring and job cuts programme, and the failings of the ‘consultation’ process. Watch their evidence in full, it runs from 14:07 to 15:13 read more
PCS statement on government plans to restrict jury trials (3 Dec) – PCS strongly condemns the justice secretary David Lammy’s reported proposals to restrict the historic right to trial by jury. PCS considers that the proposed plans for restricting the right to trial by jury are disgraceful, undemocratic, and represent a dangerous dismantling of a cornerstone of British justice that has stood for centuries read more
Brilliant start to month-long Lincoln DWP strike (1 Dec) – The weather was miserable but spirits were high on day one of the month-long strike on the PCS picket line at the DWP Lincoln Service Centre picket where members are taking action against the closure of their office which threatens 93 jobs. The strike will continue until 5 January unless the DWP is prepared to enter meaningful negotiations with PCS to find a way of keeping the jobs for staff currently under threat of redundancy. Around 20 members braved the cold and wet weather on the picket line. Our striking members have really appreciated the support from DWP branches and from around the trade union movement read more
More strike action announced at Border Force Maritime (27 Nov) – Following the success of their strike action on 14 November, which rendered several vessels non-operational, our Border Force Maritime members will strike again on 1 December over frozen allowances and unresolved changes to terms and conditions. More than 120 PCS members who patrol UK waters, including the English Channel, are striking from 6am to 6pm, across all Maritime staff. In a ballot which closed last month, 96% of members voted for strike action and 94.95% for action short of a strike, on a turnout of 80% read more
Last chance to vote in MOPAC strike ballot (27 Nov) – The ballot for strike action over pay closes at noon on Monday 1 December. Members working for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime were handed a derisory 1.5% pay offer for 2025-2026 – an offer MOPAC grudgingly increased to 2% after sustained pressure from PCS’s MOPAC branch. This was despite MOPAC admitting it had already budgeted for a 2% pay rise, making its opening offer not just inadequate but deliberately unfair. With the Cabinet Office setting the civil service pay remit at 3.25% for 2025 and inflation running at 3.6%, the 2% award imposed in October this year is nothing short of a real-terms pay cut read more
DWP pay ballot to start in the new year (21 Nov) – The DWP group will be conducting a statutory ballot of members recommending that they vote yes for strike action on pay to begin in January. The GEC would like to thank DWP members for taking part in the consultative ballot which concluded on 10 October. Members were asked, if they were prepared to take industrial action on pay and have answered in their thousands – 80.5% being in favour of Industrial Action on a 52.3% turnout. This was a significant result for the group and exceeds the turnout required in a statutory ballot. This result clearly shows the strength of feeling amongst the DWP membership. Members made it clear that they are unhappy with the derisory offer from DWP, how DWP distributed the monies available under the treasury remit guidance and DWPs complete refusal to submit a pay flexibility case (business case) to increase spending on pay in the department. The DWP group executive committee has received approval from the national disputes committee to move to a statutory ballot on pay. The National Disputes committee has approved the request to run a statutory ballot across the DWP. It is anticipated that this ballot will run between 5 January and 16 February read more
Support members in VOA – Contact you MP about the hostile takeover
In April 2025 the then exchequer secretary to the Treasury James Murray MP announced that the Valuations Office Agency (VOA) would be integrated into Revenue and Customs (R&C) by April 2026 without any discussion with PCS read more
Westminster Security Staff To Strike On Budget Day (17 Nov) – PCS members in the parliamentary security department are striking on Budget Day (26 November) over attacks on their terms and conditions, including the loss of 6 days’ paid annual leave/rest days following the imposition of an extended shift pattern. Members affected had been contracted to work a shift pattern of 8 hours, but this was extended to 12 hours resulting in the loss, and without a new or revised contract being issued by the employer. The issue has been a bone of contention between PCS and the employer for a number of years, resulting in strike action in September after members voted massively in favour of industrial action. PCS referred the matter to the Arbitration, Conciliation Service (ACAS) for mediation following the strikes, but this concluded without agreement on 29 October because of the employer’s refusal to engage constructively with the process. This is in spite of PCS stopping all actions during the mediation period. PCS is committed to working towards a resolution but so far, the employer has not shown a willingness to do the same. The dispute has not been resolved and members will resume strike action on 26 November read more
Met Police members in fantastic show of strength (7 Nov) – Hundreds of PCS Met Police members joined picket lines and a rally in support of their fight for better pay on a one-day strike. Our members working as civilian police staff in the Met were on strike on Wednesday as part of their dispute over their employer’s refusal to pay them a £1250 consolidated allowance to meet the cost of living in London, that was paid to police officers. They are also in dispute with management over a mandated return to offices. Strike day started early with members on the line as early as 6.30am in Bow, Lambeth, Sidcup, Hendon and New Scotland Yard. Flags, banners and placards were held high and strikers converged on New Scotland Yard for a rally addressed by PCS President Martin Cavanagh, and MPs John McDonnell and Richard Burgon read more
Civil Service Pensions Finance staff vote for action against privatisation (23 Oct) – PCS members working in the Cabinet Office have voted to take strike action which could disrupt civil service pension payments and contributions in their campaign against their jobs and services being privatised. Our three members working for Civil Service Pensions Finance have voted unanimously for action in an industrial action ballot which ended today (23) over Cabinet Office plans to privatise the work they do and transfer them to outsourcing giant Capita on 1 December. Our members, who are based at Priestley House in Basingstoke, have over 60 years’ combined civil service experience, handle critical payment processing, employer liaison, and authorisations. Strike action could severely disrupt daily pension transactions, including quotes for redundancy and early retirement, and purchase order operations across government departments…We remain open to negotiations with the employer and hope management agrees to our members’ wishes to remain within the civil service read more
Get the PCS Samba Band to your protests and demonstrations – go to their Facebook page and on X/Twitter @PCS_Samba_Band
Prospect
British Library pay talks stall as members prepare for industrial action (7 Nov) – Prospect members at the British Library have expressed frustration at continued delays in resolving this year’s pay negotiations. Although the Library’s pay settlement date was in August, a formal offer was not made until October, and even then, the proposal fell short of expectations, offering a 2.4% increase and an £800 underpin. The Library has been waiting for confirmation of its settlement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which is not expected until December. In the meantime, staff have been left in limbo. Members have voted decisively to reject the pay offer, and despite positive recent discussions, there is still no improved offer on the table. Prospect is now seeking authorisation to hold a formal industrial action ballot should meaningful progress not be made soon read more
ONS take industrial action over hybrid working policy (5 Nov) – Prospect members at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have vote to extend further industrial action short of strike in their ongoing dispute over the department’s handling of its return-to-office policy. The policy, announced in spring 2024 and implemented later that year, requires staff to attend the workplace at least 40% of the time. It was introduced without meaningful consultation and ignores successful flexible and hybrid working arrangements that have previously delivered strong results for both ONS and the public read more
GMB
Spirit Boeing deal ‘leaves unanswered questions’ (8 Dec) – GMB Union says the takeover of Spirit Aerosystems – approved by the Federal Trade Commission today [Monday] – leaves questions still to be answered read more
Widnes energy firm announces Christmas redundancies (5 Dec) – A Widnes firm which produces renewable energy has announced job cuts after Christmas. Almost 50 workers at risk of redundancy at SecAmin, in Desoto Road. The site processes animal by-products and produces renewable energy, and employs a variety of workers, such as production operatives, engineers and forklift drivers. GMB Union will now meet with company bosses to discuss ways to minimise compulsory redundancies and ways to support and retrain workers who do lose their jobs read more
Waltham Forest bin strikes averted after new pay deal (4 Dec) – Refuse, street scene, and grounds maintenance workers in Waltham Forest have called off planned strikes over the festive period after accepting a last-minute pay deal. Rolling strikes were due to start in a week’s time, on Wednesday 10th December. The outsourced workers, who are employed by FCC Environment on behalf of Waltham Forest Council, voted in favour of a more generous settlement from FCC after months of lowball offers. The offer will see those workers on London Living Wage receive £14.50 an hour, back dated to August – an increase of almost 4.7 per cent on the 2024/25 London Living Wage rate. Those on higher salaries will receive a 3.6 per cent increase, back dated to April. Pay talks will restart in January when, in addition to further salary increases, sick pay, staff facilities, and overtime will also be on the table read more
Strike at ‘frozen turkey capital’ this Christmas (2 Dec) – Workers at one of the UK’s largest frozen food facilities will walk out from today. Members of GMB Union have begun a two week walk-out at frozen food storage giant Magnavale Easton. The Lincolnshire based company employs nearly 100 people and is one of the areas largest storage facilities for frozen turkey products on the lead into Christmas. With customers including owners of the Bernard Matthews brand, the 2 Sister Food Group, concerns are mounting about the impact the strike action could have on operations at the site and availability of turkeys on the run up to Christmas. Strike action will take for two weeks place until Sunday 14 December read more
Christmas crisp shortage? Hula-Hoops workers vote to strike (28 Nov) – The UK faces a Christmas crips shortage as almost 50 workers making Hula-Hoops, McCoy’s, Pom-Bears and Discos vote to strike. A majority of 85 per cent of process operatives at KP Snacks in Billingham vote for industrial action after the company imposed additional duties and responsibilities without any increase in pay. Bosses have now halted all holiday requests while it evaluates the potential impact of industrial action, in what looks like a punitive measure. GMB Union is seeking legal advice on whether this decision is unlawful. Members will now meet to discuss strike dates read more
Salford chemical workers in rights fight (28 Nov) – Chemical workers at Luxfer MEL Technologies in Salford are taking action to protect their union recognition. Currently, the company recognises GMB Union to negotiate on pay, conditions, jobs and other key workplace issues. Bosses have now announced they will end the voluntary arrangement in January. In response, GMB will apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for statutory recognition, a stronger, legally binding form of union recognition that cannot simply be removed by the company read more
Bromley Parking Wardens to stage march and strike demo (21 Nov) – GMB members to take strike action today and tomorrow and march to Bromley town centre tomorrow. GMB union members working for APCOA Parking in Bromley have overwhelmingly rejected a last-ditch pay offer from their employer and will be striking today and tomorrow. With an almost 100 per cent turnout, nearly 95 per cent of GMB members voted to reject the pay offer. As a result, the planned 48-hour strike action will go ahead read more
NHS pay rise of 2.5 per cent ‘not good enough’ (5 Nov) – GMB Union has responded to the Government’s recommendation to the NHS Pay Review Body that health workers should get a pay rise of 2.5 per cent read more
Local govt workers demand ‘significant’ pay rise (24 Oct) – The union – which represents around 150,000 council and education staff – will submit a pay claim at the end of November, along with other unions. In recent years the Local Government Association has maybe below inflation pay offers without even meeting unions to discuss read more
Shell Bacton Gas Terminal workers begin strike action (20 Oct) – Altrad workers at the Shell Bacton Gas Terminal have today [20 October] started their strike in a row over pay. The strike ballot, held by GMB Union, saw 100 per cent of members backing strike action on a 96 per cent turnout. The dispute was triggered by Altrad’s offer of a one-time 4 per cent pay uplift, which is far below the two-year deal of 11.3 per cent and 5.5 per cent proposed under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI). Altrad workers on the Perenco contract at an adjacent site doing the same type of work are being paid in line with the NAECI increase following another dispute resolved by GMB. This means workers at Shell site are now being paid less than their peers for the same work. Strikes will take place over three weeks in total, on 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th October, and 3rd and 4th November read more
Teesside wind workers to strike over ‘pitiful’ pay (14 Oct) – More than 150 Teesside workers at Seah Wind will walk out on Wednesday [15 October] and every Wednesday for six weeks after rejecting imposed shift allowances and a 3.1 per cent pay offer that’s both below inflation and industry standards. Workers will also begin a continuous overtime ban after talks with conciliatory service Acas broke down today [Tuesday]. The company, which builds wind turbine monopiles in Middlesbrough, has received millions of pounds of Government money in subsidies to boost the production of green energy. Industrial action highlights the current gap between promises made by companies and the Government on well-paid jobs in renewables and the reality for many workers read more
Learning disability service workers begin strike vote (13 Oct) – Workers at a Leeds learning disability service have today [Monday] begun voting on strike action. More than 200 workers at Aspire will take part in the ballot after bosses imposed a new sick pay policy, which means staff receive no pay after just one month of illness. Workers have already cancelled essential surgery, while others fear they will be forced to work while ill – putting vulnerable service users in danger. The ballot closes on 27 October. Aspire, formerly part of Leeds City Council before being spun off into a Community Benefit Society in 2015, has refused to reconsider its position despite repeated efforts by the GMB Union to find a fair resolution read more
Teesside military paint workers vote to strike (8 Oct) – More than one hundred military paint workers have voted to strike in fury over ‘pittance’ pay. GMB members at PPG industries, in Shildon, voted to walk out after bosses hit them with a real terms pay cut. PPG produces defence level quality paint for companies, including Airbus and BAE, and GMB members make the military green paint used on army vehicles. The firm has official Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) status due to the dangerous chemicals the workforce use. The company already has an order back log and it’s anticipated that this action will result in significant production delays. Industrial action is now expected this autumn read more
Jobs at Tower Hamlets primary school at risk due to ‘fire and rehire’ proposal
Schools (7 Oct) – Bonner Primary School’s plans will see 11 staff members lose their jobs, while remaining staff will be expected to do more work for the same pay
GMB Union has slammed proposals that will see 20 Midday Meals Supervisors at Bonner Primary School in Tower Hamlets put at risk of redundancy in a ‘fire and rehire’ style restructure. The proposals will see 11 Midday Meals Supervisors lose their jobs altogether, while 9 others will be rehired in new Playworker roles. The new Playworker roles will be on the same pay as Midday Meals Supervisors but with more responsibilities. Teaching Assistants will also be expected to take on additional work to cover the 11 job losses, covering playtime and dining hall activities. GMB has raised concerns about the job losses, worse terms and conditions for staff, and the impact on the health and safety of children. A petition opposing the plans has already gained over 300 signatures read more
Unison
Donate to support striking workers – As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund
Stop the Council Cuts – Sign the petition: Save our Services – Nottingham City Unison
Sign open letter: Reinstate Tom Barker, UNISON rep at Ash Field Academy in Leicester
(Hosted by Leicester and District Trades Union Council).
To Paul Stone, Discovery Schools Academy Trust (DSAT)
Leader, and Richard Bettsworth, Chair of DSAT Trustees.
On October 20 2025, UNISON members at Ash Field Academy, a
special educational needs school in Leicester, voted to take industrial action
over inadequate staffing levels, excessive workload, and health and safety.
Staffing levels at Ash Field, which was taken over by Discovery Schools Academy
Trust (DSAT) in 2024, have been diminishing over the last year as DSAT sought
to make savings.Combined with a redundancy consultation that took place
shortly before the 2025 Summer break, this led to the loss of approximately 10%
of the school’s workforce, mostly from frontline workers. These cuts have
greatly increased the workload of the remaining staff, stretching them to the
point that their health and safety is at risk. The union, which represents around 100 members at the school, completed a formal industrial action ballot on October 20. 86% of members voted in favour of strike action, on a turnout of 60%.
Just three working days after the result of this ballot, UNISON’s lead steward at the school, Tom Barker, was suspended from his duties. Tom was given no prior warning of a complaint and was escorted from the
premises. This is a disgraceful act of trade union victimisation and
potentially places DSAT outside the relevant employment laws. Tom’s suspension
is a direct attempt to silence union members and victimise their rep who also
now sits on the UNISON’s National Executive Council (NEC) SIGN HERE
Unions lobby Lammy to speed up probation pay rise (8 Dec) – Justice minister should ‘use his influence to end this delay’, says UNISON. UNISON, the GMB and Napo have written to the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, David Lammy, calling on him to accelerate the pay offer to probation service members that has been promised since April. Members of UNISON and Napo delivered the letter in person to the Ministry of Justice on Friday read more
Huge drop in overseas nurses and midwives puts NHS services at risk (5 Dec) – Government needs a rethink on policies to ensure sufficient nursing staff. Commenting on the sharp decline in international recruits revealed in the Nursing and Midwifery Council register today (Friday), UNISON national nursing officer Louie Horne said: “A near 50% plummet in international recruitment is a huge cause for concern…” read more
NHS staff need pay talks now, says UNISON (2 Dec) – Direct talks are the way to fix pay and avoid falling foul of minimum wage laws. The government must hold urgent talks with health unions to fix the NHS pay structure once and for all to avoid staff falling below the legal minimum wage each year, says UNISON today (Tuesday).
Without action, tens of thousands of employees on the lowest wage bands will once again drop beneath the statutory minimum level when it rises by 50p an hour to £12.71 from April 2026. That’s also the date all NHS staff are due their annual pay rise. But UNISON says delays and a failure to tackle low earnings properly mean the government risks having to resort to a temporary top-up to avoid falling foul of the law read more
Mining museum strike extended into new year as managers fail to make acceptable pay offer (24 Oct) – A long-running strike by more than 40 workers at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield has been extended until the end of January 2026. Staff have been on a continuous strike since mid-August in a dispute over pay. The museum has failed to put forward an acceptable wage-rise to resolve the dispute. The workers feel they have no option but to extend the strike due to the museum management’s ongoing refusal to improve what’s on the table and backtracking on earlier promises. Employees rejected the latest offer last week* as the new terms would leave many staff worse off than a previous version that had already been turned down. UNISON says the extension of the strike is down to the museum’s unwillingness to pay workers what they deserve read more
Council and school staff need a fair pay rise, say unions (1 Dec) – Failure to deliver a meaningful pay rise will make recruitment and retention problems worse. Unions representing 1.4 million council and school staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are calling for a wage rise of at least £3,000 to recognise soaring workloads and increasing household costs, they say today (Monday). UNISON, GMB and Unite have submitted their joint annual local government pay claim for 2026-27, demanding a substantial award from April after years of effective pay cuts, which have left staff struggling to keep up with rising household bills. The unions are warning pay for council and school staff continues to lag behind many other public services read more
Three branches, one message: UNISON rejects below-inflation pay offer (21 Nov) – The offer was made five months after unions submitted a pay claim and three months after the pay rise was due. UNISON members holding signs on their picket line reading ‘no pay, no way’ and ‘fair pay now’. UNISON members across three transport employers have balloted for strike action, following a pay offer of just 3.2%. These workers include engineers, admin staff, project managers, transport planners, IT & environmental specialists, to name a few. They are essential operational support staff who keep bus, tram, rail and wider transport services running safely and efficiently. Their work ensures that thousands of passengers can rely on accessible, coordinated, and secure public transport every day – making them some of the most vital workers in the transport system. The 3.2% offer was made five months after unions submitted a pay claim and three months after the pay rise was due. It was rejected by a large majority. UNISON says that these frontline workers – already on low wages – continue to face rising living costs without a pay increase that reflects the value of their work or the financial pressures they experience…The Transport for Greater Manchester branch has taken full strike action on 30 Oct, 5 Nov, 7 Nov, 12 Nov and 14 November and is currently undertaking action short of strike from 15–24 November. It also has action planned for 25-28 November inclusive. The West Midlands Combined Authority branch took strike action on 14 November and began action short of strike on 15 November. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority strike dates are to be announced soon. All branches are currently planning additional industrial action dates, including further days of full strike action. If anyone would like to send a message of support to those on strike, please use the branch email addresses:-
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority & Transport branch: [email protected]
- West Midlands Combined Authority: [email protected]
- Transport for Greater Manchester: [email protected] read more
Welsh Ambulance Service staff to vote on industrial action over NHS pay, says UNISON (23 Oct) – Put NHS Pay Right. Welsh Ambulance Service staff are to be balloted for industrial action over their below-inflation pay award, says UNISON Cymru today (Thursday). Workers represented by the union will be asked from Friday (24 October) if they wish to strike over their wage increase for 2025/26. The union says the settlement fails to recognise the rising cost of living and other pressures facing NHS staff. If employees vote for industrial action, walkouts could take place in Wales as early as Christmas or during the busiest winter months for the NHS. The dispute centres on the Welsh government’s decision earlier this year to simply implement the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommended 3.6% increase for those on the Agenda for Change pay scale, rather than hold talks on a fair pay rise. UNISON says the award is now below inflation – currently at 3.8% – leaving ambulance workers and other NHS staff struggling to make ends meet. Staff belonging to the union across Wales backed strike action in a consultation. Welsh Ambulance Service is the first employer to be targeted as part of an all-Wales campaign to ‘Put NHS pay right’. UNISON represents hundreds of workers across the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, including call handlers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and non-emergency patient transport staff read more
University staff to begin strike vote on below-inflation pay offer (20 Oct) – University staff are the backbone of campus life, keeping institutions running. Support staff at more than 100 universities across the UK will begin voting today (Monday) on potential strike action following a below-inflation pay offer from senior managers, says UNISON. The national industrial action ballot closes on Friday 28 November. More than 90% of members who took part in a UNISON consultation in the summer rejected the 1.4% pay offer for 2025/26 from the Universities and Colleges Employers Association. For years university staff have seen their pay lose value while workloads have soared and job insecurity has increased as institutions cuts costs, says the union. The latest offer from employers amounts to a real-terms wage cut and falls well short of other pay awards in both the public and private sectors, UNISON adds. The union represents professional services staff at universities whose work keeps campuses running safely and effectively. They include administrators, technicians, librarians, student support teams and cleaners. Other unions representing university workers – UCU, Unite and EIS – are also holding ballots on the same offer read more
Support Camden Unison school support staff members at Richard Cobden school for fair pay and safe staffing levels Camden New Journal: School strike over cuts to support staff
NIPSA
Response to Department of Health Circular HSC (AfC) 06/2025 – Agenda for Change Pay Award 2025/26 (3 Dec) – NIPSA welcomes the implementation of the 3.6% pay increase for Agenda for Change staff, effective from 1 April 2025 and the restoration of pay parity with colleagues in other parts of the UK. This outcome follows sustained campaigning by NIPSA and other trade unions on behalf of Health and Social Care workers. However, we must formally register our disappointment that this pay award does not meet the demands set out by NIPSA. Members will know that NIPSA has consistently called for Health and Social Care sector to fall into line with the wider public sector and the Civil Service by becoming a Real Living Wage employer. This award falls far short of that commitment and leaves our lowest-paid workers only marginally above the statutory minimum wage. We also note, with growing concern, the recurring pattern in which health workers in Northern Ireland are left waiting until late in the financial year for confirmation of their pay award. This repeated delay causes uncertainty and demonstrates a continued lack of respect for the workforce. NIPSA remains fully committed to ensuring that these issues are resolved read more
Education Workers Take Action Against Education Cuts And School Meals Price Increase (1 Dec) – The joint trade unions (UNISON, NIPSA, Unite, GMB), representing support staff in education are urging the public to join a protest against proposed education cuts and the Education Authority’s proposal to increase the price of school meals on Wednesday, 3rd December at 12:30 PM on the steps of Stormont. Due to insufficient budgets and chronic underfunding, proposals have been made to cut services and increase fees across the education sector. One such proposal includes raising the cost of school meals by 50p. These measures unfairly place the burden of underfunding on children, education staff, parents, and families—while failing to address the root cause: a fundamental budget shortfall read more
Royal College of Nursing
Corridor care crisis: 12-hour waits surge as RCN warns of ‘devastating’ winter (3 Dec) – The Westminster government’s failure to rapidly invest in beds, staff and community services has set the stage for a dangerous winter read more
RCN survey shows nursing staff feel more undervalued than ever (2 Dec) – Two-thirds of nursing staff say their pay doesn’t reflect their responsibilities, and four in 10 are considering leaving the profession, the RCN reports read more
RCN opens donations to strike fund in response to public desire to support striking staff – We’ve launched a donation page for people to financially help nursing staff on strike read more
RCM
Royal College of Midwives warns slowdown in midwifery workforce growth risks increasing pressure on maternity services (5 Dec) – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has expressed concerns following new figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) showing a significant slowdown in growth of the UK’s nursing and midwifery register, driven by a sharp fall in international recruitment and an increase in staff leaving the profession. The latest NMC data, released today (Friday 5 December 2025), reveals that while the number of midwives on the register has reached a record high of 47,481, growth has slowed to just 1.9% in the last six months read more
BMA
Resident doctors set date for strike (1 Dec) – BMA members will return to the picket lines in run-up to Christmas in search of improved pay offer. Resident doctors in England will strike again this month, with the BMA urging the Government to call off the action by resuming talks on jobs and pay. The BMA resident doctors committee has today confirmed doctors will return to the picket lines in the run-up to Christmas, while urging the Government to ‘get a grip on the situation’ by returning to negotiations. Should it go ahead, the latest round of action will see resident doctors stage full walk-outs from 7am on 17 December until 7am 22 December. Confirming the new strike dates, BMA resident doctors committee co-chair Jack Fletcher said that, while doctors would rather be treating patients than be on picket lines, continuing inaction with addressing the profession’s concerns meant there was no alternative read more
Doctors seek mandate for further strike action (28 Nov) – ‘Regrettable another extension to continue industrial action was necessary,’ says RDC chair. Resident doctors are set to vote on whether to extend strike action amid the continuing dispute with the Government around restoration of pay and jobs. The BMA resident doctors committee is set to ballot doctors in England on extending the right to take industrial action, with the current mandate set to expire in January. The ballot, which will run from 8 December to 2 February 2026, comes in the wake of an unprecedented 13 rounds of strike action, the latest of which saw doctors stage a full, five-day walk out between 14 and 18 November. A ‘yes’ vote would see the RDC’s mandate for strike action extended until August 2026 read more
Doctors in Scotland prepare to vote for better pay (31 Oct) – Resident doctors in Scotland ready themselves for ballot on whether to strike owing to remuneration deal. Resident doctors in Scotland are to vote on whether to take strike action on pay in a five-week ballot in the run up to Christmas, the BMA has announced. If they vote yes, resident doctors could go on strike – for the first time in Scotland – early next year. The ballot opens on Friday 14 November – the first day of the next scheduled strike by resident doctors in England, who are calling for pay restoration south of the border read more
NEU
NEU members at Ysgol Gymraeg Mornant agree to postpone industrial action to allow for talks with the employer (2 Dec) – NEU Members at Ysgol Gymraeg Mornant have agreed to postpone the strike days announced last week to allow for talks with the employer. The mandate for strike action is valid until May 2026 therefore new dates could be issued in the future should talks fail read more
Belmont Park Special School / Waltham Forest (Conditions of Service) 8-11 Dec
Pablo Phillips – [email protected]
Mallainee Martin – [email protected]
St Saviours CofE Primary / Waltham Forest (Conditions of Service) 8-10 Dec
Pablo Phillips [email protected]
Mallainee Martin [email protected]
Sensory Support Service / Ealing (Unacceptable Management Style) 8-12 Dec
Stefan Simms [email protected]
The Children’s Hospital School (Gt Ormond Street & UCH) / Camden (Conditions of Service) 8-9 Dec
Megan Quinn [email protected]
St Columba’s Catholic Boys School / Bexley (Compulsory Redundancies) 9 Dec
Aidan Evans [email protected]
Redbridge High School / Liverpool (Terms & Conditions of Service) 9-10 Dec
Jack Roberts [email protected]
Haydon Bridge High School / Northumberland (Conditions of Service) 9-10 Dec
Sean Kelly [email protected]
Bishop Ullathorne Catholic Sch / Coventry (Conditions of Service) 9-12 Dec
Chris Denson [email protected]
Judgemeadow Community College / City of Leicester (Workload) 9-11 Dec
Jenny Day [email protected]
Woodlands School / Harrow (Conditions of Service) 10-11 Dec
Alex Davies [email protected]
The Valley Leadership / Preston (Virtual Teacher) 10-11 Dec
Ian Watkinson [email protected]
Kinver High School / Staffs (Conditions of Service) 10-11 Dec
Rebecca Cann [email protected]
Wombourne High School / Wolverhampton (Conditions of Service) 10-11 Dec
Rebecca Cann [email protected]
Capital City College Angel / Islington (Pay) 10-11 Dec
Pippa Dowswell [email protected]
Liberty Academy / Hull (Behaviour Policy & Procedures) 11-12 Dec
Paula Burgin [email protected]
NASUWT
Hexham teachers strike over failure to address behaviour management (8 Dec) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Haydon Bridge High School in Hexham will be taking the first of five planned days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) over the failure of school management to put in place an effective pupil behaviour management system. NASUWT withdrew the first two days of planned strike action on the 19th and 25th November as a gesture of goodwill after management agreed to act to address members’ concerns about a lack of action to deal with poor pupil behaviour. However, no effective actions have subsequently been put in place by school management, leaving NASUWT with no choice than to reinstate strike action read more
Ballot opens over Scottish class contact time dispute (19 Nov) – The Scottish Government is facing avoidable industrial action disruption in the new year unless it agrees to act with urgency to address teachers’ workloads, NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union has warned. The Union is opening its ballot of members in Scotland today (Wednesday) over class contact time. NASUWT teachers are being balloted for both strike action and action short of strike action over the Scottish Government’s failure to make significant progress on its manifesto commitment to reduce teachers’ maximum class contact time from 22.5 to 21 hours per week. The ballot will close on Wednesday 14th January read more
Teachers at Kettering school take strike action over inadequate management (3 Nov) – Members of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union at Meadowside Primary School in Kettering will be taking the first of six planned days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) over adverse management practices which are affecting teachers’ health and working conditions. Teachers are facing excessive workload, a lack of transparency and effective communication and lack of career progression. NASUWT teachers also began an ongoing programme of action short of strike action last Wednesday (29th October) under which they have withdrawn from specific non-teaching activities which they believe are driving up their workloads and distracting them from focusing on teaching and learning read more
EIS
Strike Action to Continue Next Week at Craigclowan School (5 Dec) – Members of the EIS at Craigclowan School near Perth will take further strike action in opposition to the school’s use of fire and rehire to force staff out of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS) and into a worse scheme that will cost less for the school. The strike follows a ballot in which a majority of EIS members voted for industrial action read more
EIS Opens Statutory Industrial Action Ballot Over Teacher Workload (11 Nov) – The EIS has opened a statutory ballot for industrial action over teacher workload. The statutory ballot, held by post to comply with UK trade union law, will run until the 14th of January read more
EIS ULA Opens National Statutory Ballot for Strike Action Over Pitiful Pay Offer (20 Oct) – EIS ULA has opened a statutory ballot of its members for strike action over university employers failing to improve their full and final pay offer, which was tabled earlier this year. The EIS has opened this ballot after the results of their recent consultative ballot saw members overwhelmingly reject the full and final pay offer made by the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and vote in favour of taking strike action to pursue an improved pay uplift. UCU, UNISON and UNITE are also set to open statutory ballots on the joint national pay dispute with UCEA. The EIS ULA ballot will remain open for almost six weeks, closing on Friday 28th November read more
UCU
UCU Stop the Cuts campaign
Sign petition against the education cuts
UCU Strike at Capital City College – Capital City College Group is on strike Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 December, picket lines 8-10am as follows:-
* Angel, 311-321 Goswell Road, Angel, EC1V 7DD
* Holloway, 444 Camden Road, Islington, N7 0SP
* Finsbury Park, 28-42 Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, N4 2DG
* King’s Cross, 211 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8RA
* Westminster, 76 Vincent Square, London, SW1P 2PD
* Tottenham, High Road, Tottenham, N15 4RU
* Enfield, 73 Hertford Road, Enfield, EN3 5HA
Support the strike, donate to the Crowdfunder: https://gofund.me/6c0d0eea7
Strike ballot launched at Northumbria University in pay and pensions row (5 Dec) – Staff at Northumbria University will be balloted for strike action in their fight against plans to pressure them to leave the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. The industrial action ballot will open on Monday 15 December and will close on Friday 23 January, with potential action in the new year when teaching takes place. It comes after UCU members overwhelmingly passed a motion of no confidence in the university executive team, including the vice-chancellor, in a packed branch meeting last month read more
Strikes off at Runshaw College as staff win 7% pay award (4 Dec) – Staff at Runshaw College in Leyland have overwhelmingly voted to accept a pay offer of 7% and pull out of the England wide college strike action. The win, coming after York College UCU resolved its dispute last week, means the union has now settled at 20 colleges since launching its ballot in October. The deals leave 31 colleges left in the dispute over fair pay and conditions, with strike action set to go ahead on Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 January (2026). UCU is urging management at the 31 colleges to come back to the table and make fair pay offers that help close the pay gap between school and college teachers so it can call off the strike action. UCU – alongside sister unions NEU, GMB, UNISON and Unite – is calling for a New Deal for FE, including pay parity with schoolteachers, national workload agreements and a binding national bargaining framework read more
Staff fury as University of Essex threatens to slash 400 jobs (2 Dec) – UCU has today condemned plans by the University of Essex to axe 400 jobs and close its Southend campus. In an email sent to staff, the vice-chancellor, has confirmed plans to cut 200 academic posts during this academic year and 200 professional services roles across this academic year and next. The university will also be mothballing its Southend campus and moving the students and remaining staff to Colchester from next September. The university says it needs to operate more efficiently and reduce costs and has to make cuts due to the strain that the sector is currently under. The union is awaiting more information on which departments would be hit and when job cuts would start, and has called on management to work with staff unions to avoid job losses read more
England wide strike action to hit 32 colleges in January over fight for fair pay (28 Nov) – Staff at 32 colleges across England are set to down tools for three days in January over low pay and poor working conditions. UCU members at all 32 colleges will strike on Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 January, disrupting the start of spring term, if college bosses refuse to come back to the table with a fair pay offer. The strike comes after an overwhelming 91% of staff across the 32 colleges who voted backed downing tools in a ballot with an aggregate turnout of 60%. A further 18 colleges were also balloted but have avoided strike action after UCU members voted to settle their disputes due to winning pay awards worth up to 8.7%. UCU – alongside its sister unions NEU, GMB, UNISON and Unite – is calling for a New Deal for FE, including pay parity with schoolteachers, national workload agreements and a binding national bargaining framework. Employer body, the Association of Colleges (AoC), has recommended a pay uplift of 4%, but colleges do not have to follow the AoC recommendation, and many have failed to do so in previous pay rounds. The average college teacher earns £9,000 less than their counterpart does in schools read more
4 days of strikes begin tomorrow at Imperial College London over real terms pay cuts (24 Nov) – Imperial College London staff will down tools tomorrow in a fight for a fair pay award, the University and College Union (UCU) confirmed today. Management misled staff over benchmarking used to justify pay levels whilst pushing ahead with £2bn of capital spending. Management offered more leave on full pay to fathers’ than to mothers, then took back the additional leave out of shared parental leave. Further strike action called for 1 – 12 December if management refuses to return to negotiations. The full strike days this week are from Tuesday 25 – Friday 28 November and pickets will take place on each day of the action at the South Kensington and White City campuses from 8.30am until 10.30am. If management continues to refuse to make a fair offer, the union has also called strike action on the following dates: Monday 1 – Friday 5 December; Monday 8 – Friday 12 December. UCU members have already taken six days of strike action this term over management’s refusal to increase its below-inflation 2% pay award, an offer that was rejected overwhelmingly by members of all three recognised unions (UCU, Unison and Unite) read more
University of Sheffield staff to strike from this week in job cuts row (18 Nov) – Staff at the University of Sheffield began 14 days of strike action on Monday 17 November, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced. The full UCU strike dates are:-
- Monday 17, Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19, and Friday 21 November
- Monday 24 to Thursday 27 November
- Monday 1, Tuesday 2, Wednesday 4 and Friday 5 December
- Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 December
Pickets will take place at locations across the university on each morning of action, with the main picket at the Firth Court section of the Western Bank campus, where the vice-chancellor’s office is based read more
Edinburgh University three-day strike over cuts, ongoing job losses and threat of compulsory redundancies (17 Nov) – University and College Union (UCU) Scotland members at the University of Edinburgh today (Monday) begin three days of strike action in a dispute over £140million cuts and job losses, including the possible use of compulsory redundancies. As well as striking today, UCU members will also be on strike on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 November. Future action could also see a marking and assessment boycott which would see members refuse to take part in marking and assessment duties, including work such as exam invigilation and the processing of marks, and would be an escalation of this dispute read more
University of Derby staff vote for strike action over threat of compulsory redundancies and course closures (13 Nov) – Staff at the University of Derby have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over potential compulsory redundancies and course closures, UCU announced today. In the ballot, 82% of those that took part voted for strike action, with 93% backing action short of a strike (ASOS), on a 66% turnout. The dispute centres on the university’s refusal to rule out compulsory job losses and course closures for the 2025/26 academic year. This comes after two previous rounds of redundancies, which have already targeted research and managerial positions. Despite repeated attempts by the UCU branch to engage in constructive negotiations, senior management has refused to provide assurances that there will be no further job cuts. The union said the threat of redundancies is unjustified, particularly given the university’s significant recent spending, including £75 million on the Cavendish Building project. The union also said the dispute could be resolved immediately if the vice-chancellor and senior leadership commit to no compulsory redundancies and no course closures read more
Strike dates set at Dundee University in long running dispute as employer announces further job cuts (3 Nov) – UCU members at the Dundee University will take five days of strike action next week beginning on Monday 10 November. As well as Monday, staff will also be striking during the rest of the week on Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12, Thursday 13 and Friday 14 November 2025. UCU members will also take part in action short of strike which will involve staff taking actions including working to contract, not covering for colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities at the university. The strike follows a re-ballot where 72% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout 58% read more
Solent University threatens P&O-style ‘Fire & Rehire’ with pension cuts (22 Oct) – UCU today announced that it has entered a formal trade dispute with Southampton Solent University over plans to force all its staff onto inferior pension schemes, paving the way for a strike ballot if management refuses to resolve the dispute. On Wednesday 24 September Solent vice-chancellor Professor James Knowles announced in a video call with staff that the university intends to move all staff to wholly owned subsidiary company, Solent University Services Limited (SUSL). This will force them out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and onto a second-rate defined contribution pension read more
Strike dates set at University of the Highlands and Islands in dispute over use of compulsory redundancies (21 Oct) – UCU members at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) will take four days of strike action beginning on Thursday 30 October. As well as 30 October, staff will also strike on Wednesday 5, Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 November 2025. UCU members will also take part in action short of strike which will involve staff taking actions including working to contract, not covering for colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities at the university. The strike follows a ballot where 71% of those who voted backed strike action on a turnout of 82%. The dispute is over management pressing ahead with plans to make 16 jobs at the university’s executive office redundant as part of efforts to save £2million. University senior managers are using compulsory redundancies to implement the job cuts; a move the union says is unacceptable. The union also questioned the impact cuts would have on the remaining staff who will be left with unmanageable workloads and said that these new cuts followed multiple cuts and jobs losses in recent years. The union said that the hollowing out of the university’s executive office isn’t sustainable long term with a functioning university read more
UCU general secretary Jo Grady to visit INTO Manchester picket on Tuesday as part of low pay dispute (29 Sept) – The University and College Union (UCU) today announced that Jo Grady will visit the INTO Manchester College picket line tomorrow as part of the dispute over low pay. UCU members at the private college for international students downed tools on Thursday 25 September and will do so again on Tuesday 30 September. Jo Grady will visit the picket line at the entrance to the college’s main building on Whitworth Street from 8.30am to 9.15am tomorrow and discuss the campaign with members. Despite the disruption and calls from the union to talk, the college has refused to budge from its pay offer of just a 2% rise, a significant real term cut against inflation. The strike comes after an overwhelming 97% of UCU members voted to take strike action in a ballot that saw a turnout of 83% read more
University of Bradford staff announce further strike dates job cuts row (18 Sept) – University of Bradford staff will down tools for 10 days in a fight to save jobs, UCU announced today. Staff will strike every weekday from Monday 22 September until Friday 3 October in their dispute over redundancies, disrupting the first two weeks of the new academic year read more
UCU fighting fund: the link is here and donations to the fund are spent on supporting members involved in important disputes.
FBU
BREAKING NEWS!! FBU says industrial action on cards after Oxfordshire council pushes cuts consultation (9 Dec) – Around one hundred firefighters gathered at a rally outside Oxfordshire County Hall today, calling on the county council to drop plans to cut the fire and rescue service. Firefighters travelled from across the county to attend. Speaking at the rally, FBU general secretary Steve Wright said: “These proposals will not only affect firefighter safety, it will affect the communities that we’re here to protect. It is outrageous that they are now trying to close fire stations, limit the number of firefighters on the back of fire engines… We know that in Oxfordshire we take 2 minutes longer than the national average to arrive at incidents. Every second counts, and when we turn up delayed because of these decisions, firefighters and the public’s lives will be on the line.” The Fire Brigades Union has described plans to close five fire stations and remove six fire engines across Oxfordshire as putting residents across the county at risk. The council responded to today’s rally by confirming that a public consultation on the cuts will continue. The FBU says that firefighters are exploring the option of balloting for industrial action read more
Oxfordshire firefighters to rally at county hall as part of campaign against “dangerous” cuts (4 Dec) – Firefighters in Oxfordshire are preparing to launch a “huge” campaign against cuts to Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Yesterday, over 150 firefighters from across the county travelled to Oxford for a mass Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members’ meeting in opposition to the county council’s plans. The FBU has organised a rally of firefighters to protest the cuts outside Oxford’s County Hall on Tuesday 9 December at 9am. The council is running a public consultation on the cuts, open until 20 January 2026. The FBU is calling for the consultation to be scrapped. Oxfordshire County Council plans threaten to close five fire stations – Eynsham, Woodstock, and Henley – and remove six fire engines. Rewley Road and Kidlington fire stations could also be merged into one base in Oxford, with a special rescue vehicle to be cut from Kidlington. At night, only five fire engines will be guaranteed to be available to cover all of Oxfordshire. 42 firefighters as a minimum face forced redundancy, firefighters across Oxfordshire being forced to work unsafe 12-hour shifts, and 14 firefighters could face losing their homes in Kidlington as a result of the plans for Oxford. The union has warned that industrial action could be on the cards if plans aren’t withdrawn read more
Sign this petition: To Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Authority and Chief Fire Officer – STOP, THINK & REASSESS Dangerous Cuts to Firefighter Numbers
POA
NEC minutes November 2025 read more
General Secretary update read more
National Chair update Nov 2025 read here
NAPO
Probation pay update (28 Nov) – We have previously advised our members in the Probation Service, that it’s now nearly 12 months since the joint probation unions submitted our pay claim for 2025 and eight months since the 2025 pay rise was due on 1 April. As we approach the start of December, there is still no news from HMPPS as to when we will see a pay offer. It goes without saying that this delay is completely unacceptable and the inertia from the employer and government is a disgrace. While we are well aware that in the normal course of events the civil service is much slower than other public sector employers when it comes to making pay offers, the unions have not been able to get any answers as to why it is taking HMPPS so long to get approval from the Treasury to make a pay offer for this year. We know that HMPPS is making a special case for a pay offer above the government’s normal limit for 2025, but we were told this back in the summer. So why the ongoing delay? Napo, UNISON and GMB met with the new Lord Chancellor David Lammy on 17th November and strongly pressed him on when our members could expect a pay offer. David Lammy continually stressed that he was doing everything he could to speed up the process and hoped to be able to see an offer appear before Christmas. Napo ready to ballot members – Depending on the scope of the offer when it arrives, and the determination by Napo’s Probation Negotiating Committee, Napo is obviously committed to ensuring that our members have their say via a ballot. Obviously, the onset of the Christmas holiday presents logistical challenges in this regard, and we have factored this into our planning. The primary objective is to secure maximum turnout from our membership to provide us with a mandate for our next steps, so we will need to give careful consideration as to the timetable to enable a ballot to take place which meets our members best interests read more
BFAWU
Winter Foodworker 2025 read more
Support the campaign to unionise Samworth Brothers – get organised, sign the petition read more
Nautilus International
River cruise crew secure better protection with new collective bargaining agreement between Nautilus and Excellence Cruises (8 Dec) – A major breakthrough in employment standards has been achieved in the European river cruise sector through a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Nautilus International and Excellence Cruises. It also means some Swiss operators will move away from controversial Cypriot employment contracts following sustained pressure from Nautilus International and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) read more
Member efforts at PLA secure pay deal (3 Dec) – Nautilus International members at the Port of London Authority (PLA) have brought a challenging 12-month negotiation to a close after voting in favour of a pay deal from the company read more
Strike action looms at Lloyd’s Register as Dutch employees threaten to bring critical services to standstill over pay dispute (26 Nov) – Nautilus International has issued an ultimatum to Lloyd’s Register EMEA and Lloyd’s Register Maritiem Nederland B.V. after the employer refused to negotiate with union members over pay and working conditions. The union has given the company until noon on Thursday 27 November to agree to demands including a 4.5% wage increase backdated to January 2025, or face escalating industrial action that will directly impact the Port of Rotterdam, offshore wind projects, and the oil and gas supply industry read more
NUJ
NUJ members at STV vote overwhelmingly in favour of strike action (8 Dec) – NUJ members at STV have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action over the Scottish broadcaster’s plans to make compulsory redundancies and to axe the STV North edition of the News at 6. A formal ballot of staff showed 94% in favour of strike and 98% for action short of strike on a turnout of 82%. Potential strikes could happen before Christmas, although no industrial action is currently expected read more
NUJ calls on the United Nations to condemn persecution of journalists at BBC News Persian (4 Dec) – The NUJ has urged the UN to condemn the Iranian state’s use of extreme language regarding the BBC’s reporting and the country’s justification of its unlawful actions towards the corporation’s staff and their families read more
Palestine: Photojournalist killed in drone strike by Israeli forces (4 Dec) – Mahmoud Wadi’s death takes toll of media workers to at least 226. The NUJ has joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in repeating calls for an immediate investigation into the continued targeting of Palestinian journalists by Israeli forces following the killing of Mahmoud Wadi. The photojournalist, who worked for Alam 24, was killed in an Israeli drone strike on Khan Yunis on 2 December read more
Journalists at The Mirror vote to strike (22 Oct) – NUJ members at The Mirror have voted yes in a ballot for strike action over compulsory redundancies, rotas and concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on editorial quality. The vote comes after Reach, the commercial publisher that owns The Mirror, announced mass redundancies across the company in September. The Mirror is one of the titles worst affected by the cuts, losing around 40 writers and editors read more
Equity
Equity hails importance of workers’ terms as Netflix buys Warner Bros. Studios (5 Dec) – While company ownership shifts, Equity contracts endure read more
Equity ballots film & TV performers on action over AI (4 Dec) – Help improve the working lives of our members and protect the professionalism of audio work read more
Equity seeks ambitious theatre pay and conditions uplift (3 Dec) – Equity has submitted ambitious claims on pay and conditions ahead of negotiations on three major theatre agreements which are due for renewal in 2026 read more
Equity members rally against Bristol City Council’s planned £635k arts cut (26 Nov) – Equity has condemned plans by Bristol City Council to cut its Cultural Investment Programme by £635,000. The response came ahead of a demonstration against the cuts at College Green this morning (26 November). Organised by local arts and community groups, Equity members were joined at the demo by artists and members of the public concerned about the impact of the cuts read more
USDAW
Usdaw announces industrial action dates after members overwhelmingly vote for strike action (2 Dec) – Usdaw, the trade union for staff working at car care products manufacturer Tetrosyl and Tetrosyl Express, has today announced four dates over a week in December for industrial action; in a dispute about the company using ‘fire and rehire’ to reduce terms and conditions for staff at their Rochdale site
• 6am – 1.59pm, Monday 15th
• 2pm – 9.59pm, Wednesday 17th
• 6am – 1.59pm, Friday 19th
• 2pm – 9.59pm, Monday 22nd read more
UVW
Solidarity Financial Appeal: UVW’s office was targeted in a break-in! – in January, laptops, essential equipment and other valuables worth several thousands of pounds were stolen, disrupting critical support for low-paid, migrant and precarious workers. This won’t stop our fight for justice. The theft comes as UVW leads critical campaigns with hundreds of workers taking strike action across London. Please support UVW during this critical time. Help replace stolen equipment and ensure campaigns for dignity and equality continue. Every donation makes a difference. Donate now: https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/donate. Read more on UVW Facebook page
IWGB
IWGB Issues Legal Claims Against Rockstar Over Unfair Dismissal of Staff (12 Nov) – The IWGB has issued claims against Rockstar Games for unfairly dismissing staff for union activity and blacklisting its members. This legal claim comes shortly after the announcement of the delay of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is expected to break records in sales upon its scheduled release in November 2026. The union believes that these dismissals amount to victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity. So far Rockstar has declined to meet with the IWGB, leading the union and barristers to issue formal legal claims on behalf of the Claimants read more
UCL Cleaners – Stop the Cuts! – In August 2025, UCL and Sodexo announced plans to make dramatic cuts to cleaning services at UCL and across students’ halls of residence. UCL say that these redundancies are part of a modernisation and cost-cutting agenda. At the same time, the university is in a very strong financial position, with student numbers up from 38,000 in 2015/16 to 52,000 last year. These changes come after cleaners have reported long standing issues with overwork, unsafe conditions and precarious contracts read more. More info on IWGB Facebook page
IWW/TEFL
Malvern House teachers on why they’re striking (15 Sept) – Teachers at Malvern House London are set to strike at the end of the month (Sept 29-30). Below, they lay out their reasons for taking this step. The decision to strike hasn’t come easily. It follows years of dedication, compromise, and repeated efforts from teachers to improve conditions at Malvern House. But despite our commitment, our voices have gone largely unheard. Teachers at Malvern House London have long asked for fair treatment, recognition, and stability. Many began on zero-hour contracts, waiting months—or even years—for permanent positions. Now, even those so-called permanent contracts are starting to resemble the insecure, unpredictable terms we thought we’d left behind read more
Security Industry Federation
Write to Simon Alderson CEO First Response Group (FRG) – stop the racism, bullying and homophobia at First Response Group more info
Mandate (Ireland)
Mandate Trade Union disappointed at 3% 2026 pay award for Tesco Ireland staff (5 Dec) – Mandate Trade Union has today expressed its disappointment that Tesco Ireland Ltd has chosen again this year to issue a unilateral pay award to its staff ignoring the union’s request for it to engage in collective bargaining. The union’s Assistant General Secretary, Jim Fuery, explained that the 3% pay award is the same percentage issued to staff as last year while the Irish operation of Tesco saw profits of €185.3 million, equating to over a half a million-euro profit per day, up €65 million on last year’s profits. Mandate had sought a pay increase in keeping with ICTU’s Private Sector pay recommendation of between 4-7% but Tesco’s pay award is below that and has fallen in real terms as our members have to contend with increased inflation, food inflation and a cost of living crisisread more
PTSB, FSU, Mandate & Unite agree 2026 pay agreement (4 Dec) – PTSB (“the Bank”) and its Group of Unions (FSU, Mandate & Unite) confirm they have reached an agreement on pay negotiations for 2026 following acceptance by members on 03rd December 2025 read more
SIPTU (Ireland)
Non-EEA permit holders pay floor must apply to all workers (5 Dec) – SIPTU has called on the Government to ensure that all workers in low paid industries benefit from a new floor on annual salaries for holders of non-European Economic Area (EEA) employment permits, warning that the Union will not accept a situation where workers already living and working in Ireland are paid less read more
Caredoc employees announce dispute over pay (27 Nov) – SIPTU and INMO members employed at Caredoc facilities have announced their intention to commence industrial action in the form of a withdrawal of labour, effective from December 18th. SIPTU and the INMO are seeking the implementation of the 2023 WRC pay agreement for Section 39 organisations, specifically the 8% increase due to members working in Caredoc. Caredoc nurses provide a range of services around the country, including GP out-of-hours services, telephone triage and community intervention. The HSE has confirmed to the trade unions that in May 2025 they provided €647,834 to Caredoc for the purpose of paying this increase to staff. The unions are seeking for this to be applied without delay. Thus far money paid by the HSE has not been applied to members’ salaries, and the unions state that this warrants a special inquiry into the funding model and fiscal responsibility read more
Carroll’s Cuisine strike action suspended as management agree to talks (27 Nov) – Strike action at Carroll’s Cuisine in Tullamore, County Offaly, has been suspended following management’s agreement to enter negotiations with union representatives this week. These talks aim to secure a collective agreement that will deliver improvements in pay and conditions for workers at the meat-processing plant read more
Sign this petition: Take Action for Workers’ Rights!
Other news
Trade union support for an independent PIP review
Dear Trade Union council, branch, organisation, or colleague,
I am writing about our campaign to tell the minister Stephen Timms that disabled people want an independent PIP review, with trade union involvement, and no more cuts. Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru (DPAC Cymru) were thrilled to see motion 38, disabled workers oppose welfare reforms, and motion 39, oppose disability benefit cuts emergency, pass unanimously at TUC conference 2025 last week. Disabled people are still fighting this battle without respite. The disability minister Stephen Timms was forced to promise parliament that further changes to PIP would only come after a review co-produced with disabled people. Timms has not kept his promise in the slightest.
An open letter initiated by DPAC Cymru demanding an independent review into the PIP benefit, to be led by disabled people and our organisations, has now received signatures from more than 600 people including representatives of more than 25 organisations.
That letter also says that “any review of welfare reform must also, in a process led by disabled people, involve trade unions as democratic organisations representing 1.4 million disabled workers as well as representing the workers responsible for the day-to-day delivery of services that disabled people rely on.”
I hope that you might consider signing our open letter in support of that demand. Signatures are being collected until the end of September.
With the government acting this way, I have also enclosed for your consideration a PDF leaflet about an upcoming trades council conference in Wales that aims to discuss the crisis of working-class political representation, with the Labour Party invited to defend their record. (eventbrite link here)
DPAC Cymru’s coordinating team recently voted unanimously to support that conference and ask if we could send observers. That conference is endorsed by Cardiff Trades Union Council, Swansea Trades Union Council, Newport Trades Union Council, Caerphilly Trades Union Council, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, Cardiff Council Unite branch, Cardiff Rail RMT branch, GMB Wales Ambulance Service branch, Cardiff General Unite branch, Unite Community Cardiff & Area, PCS ARMs branch, and Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru.
Thank you to trade union colleagues, in particular trades council delegates, for offering your support, solidarity, and advice through months of protests. You are always warmly invited to send representatives to talk to DPAC Cymru members about your campaigns, and we are always honoured by any opportunity to send a speaker to branches or conferences.
In solidarity, Kind regards, Ben Golightly – Co-coordinator, Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru (DPAC Cymru)
Email [email protected]
Phone 07410 303 652
SHAC Conference report: Tenant conference agrees move towards a national union – “Our voice is not heard”
There was broad agreement among tenants meeting in London on Saturday that ‘our voice is not heard’ and there was a need to work with unions and community bodies to form a national union of tenants. The conference was hosted by SHAC and involved a wide range of tenants including private sector, council and leaseholders read more on Unite Housing Workers branch website
Townsend Theatre Productions presents: WE ARE THE LIONS, MR MANAGER!
– the story of Jayaben Desai and the Grunwick Strike
Written by Neil Gore Directed by Louise Townsend
We Are The Lions Mr Manager!” is the story of the Great Grunwick Film Processing Factory Strike of 1976-8, and the inspirational strike-leader Jayaben Desai, one of many newly arrived Gujarati women workers from East Africa.
Grunwick wasn’t a strike about wages – it was about something much more important than that: it was about dignity. Dignity at work. And, for the small band of Asian women strikers, who braved the sun, rain, and snow month-in and month-out on the picket lines, from August 1976 to July 1978, rights in the workplace and pride at work were far more important than any amount of money
- Tour dates and tickets here. Tickets: £15 and £7.50 concessions
General Strike Centenary & The Cramlington Train Wreckers 2026 – As you know, next year is a hugely important year for working history (centenary of the General Strike) .Following the success of The Cramlington Train Wreckers last November (4,000 people attended 7 venues) it is transferring to the 1200-seat Newcastle Theatre Royal next July. We are looking to touring it next year but would like feedback from unions re support. Can you circulate it among your affiliates, please? We also have an event at Glasshouse in May to mark the first full day of the centenary of the General Strike.
We are using both events to encourage a new layer of (young) trade union activists. It is an opportunity to draw in people We had a tremendous intervention in at Durham Miners’ Gala over the weekend. Any support would be appreciated.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers is transferring to Newcastle Theatre Royal after a sell out tour at 7 North East venues (4,000 attended!) last November.
www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk
www.wisecrackproductions.co.uk
Alan Hardman ‘Need not Greed’ – Alan Hardman’s razor-sharp political cartoons collected for the first time. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, Need Not Greed is a career-spanning collection of visual art by one of Britain’s greatest unsung political cartoonists. Alongside Alan Hardman’s essential work, the book also includes a contribution from former President of the National Union of Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill, as well as a foreword by Jeremy Corbyn order a copy – £45 each
Affiliate with STAMMA – at this year’s NSSN Conference, Gary Clark retired CWU Royal Mail rep and a member of the NSSN Steering Committee spoke about STAMMA. STAMMA’s Employment Support Service helps people who stammer as well as those who don’t around issues related to stammering in the workplace. Union branches and regions can affiliate with STAMMA to access a range of services and support at a reduced rate.
- £75 for branches and regions
- £125 for national unions with under 400,000 members
- £200 for national unions with 400,000+ members
Sign this petition: To the Right Honourable Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister – Make toxic landfills safe – Support ‘Zane’s Law’! Find out more about this campaign here
From Strike Map – Our final instalment of the ‘Industrial Unionism’ series with Manifesto Press is here. Building on this success of our other pamphlets- which has sold over 2,000 copies, our next pamphlet in our series is the infamous ‘A Manual of Industrial Unionism’ by William Z Foster. Click the button here to pre-order your copy for you and your organisation
Stop the attack on Gaza
Many NSSN supporters have joined marches and protests against the escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly the invasion and bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government.
See Stop the War website for info on protests.
A number of unions have issued statements on the situation in the Middle East, including: the TUC, FBU, RMT, NEU, Unite, Unison, PCS, ASLEF, TSSA, UCU, EIS, USDAW, BFAWU, CWU, Equity, BMA, NUJ, MU, UVW, GMB, SOR, RCM, RCN, IWGB, Prospect, CSP, NAPO, INTO (Ireland), SIPTU (Ireland) and Mandate (Ireland)
Workers unity against the far-right – The far-right are again trying to whip up racist division by scapegoating refugees and migrants. The NSSN calls for the unions to play a leading role in opposing this offensive, which will only weaken our movement in the interests of the employees. We call on the TUC to implement the policy passed at its 2018 Congress, to launch a campaign of ‘Jobs and homes NOT racism.’
See info on counter-protests on union and trades councils social media and the Stand Up to Racism website.
National demonstration ‘in unity and against the far-right’ called by Together Alliance – Saturday 28th March in central London read more
Oppose blacklisting & union victimisation
Spycops inquiry condemned as “fundamentally flawed” in statement by blacklisted workers – The SpyCops public inquiry that restarts evidence hearings this week is described as “fundamentally flawed” by the Blacklist Support Group (BSG). The comments appear in an opening statement for the inquiry’s Tranche 3 hearings. The statement opens with a section stating:
“Undercover police officers infiltrated and spied on trade unions. SDS reported on union meetings, union activists, union campaigns, and industrial disputes. For decades, police and security service records were used to blacklist trade union and leftwing political activists from employment. Through official and unofficial routes, the police intelligence was disseminated to government departments, major private sector employers and the unlawful blacklisting bodies; the Economic League and the Consulting Association”. The statement goes onto catalogue 10 years of missed opportunities and broken promises in relation to blacklisting, including highlighting how intelligence gathered by undercover police is used to provide state organised vetting for employers known as ‘List X companies’. One section of the statement reads: “The failure to fully investigate blacklisting is either a remarkable lack of curiosity, or an intentional self-imposed restriction of the Inquiry’s terms of reference. Either way it is against the public interest and is a failure to fulfil the Inquiry’s terms of reference as laid out by Parliament”.
BSG’s opening statement is published on the inquiry’s website as part of the submission by Imran Khan KC, who also represents Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE, Suresh Grover and the Monitoring Group. Full statement in link below – BSG section starts at page 35.
Opening statement to the Undercover Policing Inquiry on behalf of:
Lois Austin, Richard Chessum, ‘Mary’, Dave Nellist, Hannah Sell, Youth against Racism in Europe read here
Blacklist Support Group
book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/
blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog
Keep an eye out for other Facebook and social media groups and pages that are being created. You can catch up on disputes at Strike Map UK. Also, check out Organise Now! – Support for new worker organising.
International
USA: Victory for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists after three-year strike (5 Dec) – The NUJ has commended Newsguild-CWA and journalists at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after the paper was ordered to provide compensation for various workers’ violations following a three-year strike read more on NUJ website
USA: Support the Starbucks strike – read more on Starbucks Workers United website and follow @SBWorkersUnited on X/Twitter
Support Nigeria Solidarity
From Rob Williams NSSN Chair:-
At an international conference this summer, I had the privilege to meet Adaramoye Michael, National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign in Nigeria. Michael is one of the Nigerian activists facing trial for treason, which can carry the death penalty, for the ‘crime’ of protesting against bad governance and poverty. The trial of Michael and other defendants has been delayed repeatedly but is now set for 9 October, 2025. Please show your support by asking your branch to pass the Nigeria Solidarity motion that can be found here: Union Motion – Nigeria Solidarity, sending protest letters to the Nigerian High Commission (template here: Letter to Embassy on #EndBadGovernance Protestors Repression – Google Docs), donating to the campaign if possible, and taking solidarity photos in the days before 9 October.
Further details on www.NigeriaSolidarity.com/Events.
Türkiye: No to union-busting at Digel read more
Diary
2026 NSSN Conference will be on Saturday 27th June 11am-4.30pm
